Like Tammy Wynette said: Stand by your man and show the world you love him.
California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) Executive Director, Andy Foster, is aware of all the complaints surrounding the track record of longtime referee, Herb Dean. Once known as “the best in the business” who “rarely makes mistakes,” Dean is currently under fire for a series of botched calls in high-profile MMA fights.
Like the UFC White House co-main event between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane, a bout that saw “Poatan”
absorb a couple of errant blows to the back of the dome. Pereira continued to disparage Dean in the weeks that followed and even started a petition to have Dean banned from officiating future UFC fights.
Just don’t call it whining.
“Whether it’s Herb or Marc Goddard or anybody that’s received some of this criticism, I don’t think it’s really fair,” Foster told MMA Fighting. “It doesn’t have to be fair. Being a referee’s not fair. I think Herb Dean’s a good referee and you’ll see Herb Dean on the main event of my upcoming UFC’s because Herb Dean is the senior referee in California. Herb Dean has my full confidence.”
The promotion will return to California for UFC 331 on Sept. 19 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
“The thing with Gane and Pereira, I was there. I was watching that in real time,” Foster continued. “That didn’t look anything different … that looked like a normal fight to me. That looked like a normal fight. I think what started that series was the punch that put [Pereira] on the ground. I know that’s what started that series. He’s obviously trying to finish him. [Pereira] is trying to get back in the fight.”
Pereira is afraid to make his UFC return while Dean is still employed.
“There was no doubt a few of them got through and hit [the back of the head],” Foster admitted. “The question is what do you do in that situation? Do you stop the action? Because I don’t think many referees would have, if any, certainly at the high level. What do you do with that situation? Tell me that’s not something that you’ve seen before. I think what started that series was the knockdown. That was the case.”
As a matter of fact, we have seen it before.
