Veteran referee Herb Dean came under some criticism following his role as the official inside the cage during the main event of UFC 306.
The fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title wasn’t exactly a fight of the year contender, but it wasn’t dull either.
Despite the stakes that were involved in this fight, Dean repeatedly told Dvalishvili to work when he was wrestling O’Malley, specifically towards the end of the fight.
He later explained that this was not a call that he made because the challenger wasn’t doing anything – rather, it was because Dvalishvili wasn’t attempting to cause damage or finish the fight in these exchanges.
Herb Dean Says That The Contender Series Is Proof Of What The UFC Wants MMA To Look Like
In a recent interview with Helen Yee Sports, Dean spoke more about why he is asking fighters to work more in these positions.
He believes that though a fighter using his grappling to negate his opponent’s offence is an effective technique, it isn’t what the UFC want the sport to look like.
To prove his point, Dean made reference to Dana White’s Contender Series and how those fights prioritize action and aggression.
We have seen several occasions throughout the eight seasons of the show, where fighters win in convincing fashion but don’t earn contracts because their performances didn’t show that hunger and killer instinct that the UFC is after.
Dean believes that the reason for that is to fill the roster with fighters who are always looking for the finish, rather than stalling the action to secure a victory by any means necessary.
“I’m always gonna be learning something new from some of these athletes if they take some time to share with me. But, it’s what we want our sport to look like and I think we want our, I’m going to do the Contender Series tonight, I think we want the fights to look like the guys that get signed on the Contender Series.
“That’s what I think that, that’s why they sign those guys because I think that’s what they want our sport to look like and so guys who maybe get ahead and are going to manage position… if that’s what we want our sport to look like, somebody in charge let me know. But, I think we want it to look like the fights on the Contender Series so that’s why we tell guys to work.”
Read also: Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8, Week 7 Highlights As 5 Prospects Secure Contracts
