Herb Dean Faces Renewed Criticism Over Controversial MMA Decisions

Former two‑division UFC champion Alex Pereira publicly condemned referee Herb Dean after a contentious decision at UFC Baku, where Dean allowed Shara Magomedov to commit fouls that Pereira says affected the fight’s outcome. Pereira urged the organization to remove Dean and highlighted a similar dispute from his own loss to Ciryl Gane, accusing the referee of repeated officiating errors.

In a separate incident, the California State Athletic Commission reviewed a stoppage in the MVP MMA undercard bout between Adriano Moraes and Phumi Nkuta. Although many viewers believed the choke was held too long, the commission upheld Dean’s call, stating the evidence was inconclusive. Nkuta’s appeal was denied, and he vowed a rematch, while some critics suggested a different referee should oversee future contests.

Both episodes have intensified debate within the MMA community about the oversight of referees and the role of athletic commissions in ensuring fair competition.