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The California State Athletic Commission executive director defended Dean’s handling of the Ultimate Fighting Championship interim title bout between Gane and Pereira. The UFC Freedom 250 co-headliner ended in a technical knockout victory for the Frenchman, but Pereira subsequently pointed out that illegal back-of-the-head shots were pivotal in the finishing sequence.
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CSAC official says other referees would’ve done the same as Herb Dean at UFC Freedom 250
Dean has faced immense scrutiny in recent weeks after Pereira accused him of mishandling his loss to Gane. The spotlight has been firmly on the veteran referee since the White House event, with fans and fighters pointing out alleged errors in his past and recent outings.
Pereira argues that Dean should have intervened after Gane landed multiple punches to the back of his head before the finish. However, Foster believes that the right call was made, claiming that other high-profile referees would’ve also let the bout continue.
“That looked like a normal fight to me,” Foster told MMA Fighting. “There was no doubt a few of them got through and hit [the back of the head]. The question is what do you do in that situation? Do you stop the action? I don’t think many referees would have, if any, certainly at the high level.”
Foster believes Dean handled the situation appropriately.
“I told Herb, in my view, you don’t want to warn a lot of times.”
Foster then explained that halting the action for the fouls could have unfairly altered the outcome by allowing Pereira time to recover after being rocked with a legal shot.
“That’s the dilemma,” Foster said. “So, what do you do? That is exactly Herb’s dilemma, and I think it’s worse if he stops it.”
He further added that the criticism aimed at Dean was excessive and reiterated his full confidence in the longtime official.
“I think Herb Dean’s a good referee,” Foster added. “You’ll see Herb Dean on the main event of my upcoming UFCs because Herb Dean is the senior referee in California. Herb Dean has my full confidence.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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