Herb Dean
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Herb Dean is a mixed martial arts fighter and referee. He is mainly known for his officiating role in the Ultimate Fighting Championship but he has competed in and is head official for King of the Cage. He also refereed several bouts at Pride's 'The Real Deal' event in October, 2006. He is a 2nd Dan in American Jiu-Jitsu.
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[edit] Controversial matches
At UFC 48, held on June 19, 2004, Herb Dean refereed a bout between Tim Sylvia and Frank Mir for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship belt. At :50 of round one, the fight was called to a stop after Herb Dean saw a break in Sylvia's right forearm from an armbar by Mir. Sylvia claimed there was nothing wrong with his arm and wanted the fight resumed, but it was later found Sylvia had suffered multiple fractures.[1]
At UFC 61, held on July 8th, 2006, Herb Dean served as referee of the highly anticipated rematch between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock. At 1:18 into the first round, Dean stepped in and stopped the fight following several consecutive elbows to the head of Shamrock by Ortiz, giving the victory to Ortiz by TKO. Shamrock, visibly angered, immediately protested the decision. However, it was not overturned and Shamrock was subsequently ushered out of the Octagon. A rematch was held during Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter with Ortiz once again claiming victory in a very similar fashion to the second fight, although Shamrock did not question this decision. [2]
At UFC 66, held on December 30, 2006, Herb Dean refereed a fight between Andrei Arlovski and Marcio Cruz. Arlovski landed an illegal head kick on the ground to Cruz, causing Dean to pause the fight momentarily. Dean warned Arlovski about the kick and began to stand the fighters up, but Cruz complained about wanting to keep the fight on the ground. Dean agreed to restart the fight in the same position, and once he let the fighters start Arlovski landed a hard straight right to Cruz' jaw. A stunned Cruz attempted to roll away from Arlovski, but their legs were still entwined. It appeared Cruz was moving for a leg lock and was attempting to roll Arlovski, but Arlovski held the cage - a violation of the rules - and landed several punches to the side of Cruz' head which knocked him out before he could improve his position. Dean has once again been criticized for his refereeing, this time for not calling Arlovski on holding the fence. While not as controversial as the others mentioned - as Dean appeared to be concentrating on Cruz' condition and may not have seen the fence hold - fighters have been warned and/or penalized before for actions like Arlovski's.[citation needed]
Even with his controversial decisions, Dean is well respected by many in the MMA community.[citation needed]
[edit] Mixed martial arts record
Herb is 2-2 in professional MMA with one win coming via submission and the other via knockout.
| 9/9/2001 | Win | Randy Halmot | Gladiator Challenge 6 | Submission (Choke) | Round 1, 0:43 |
| 1/18/2003 | Loss | Joe Riggs | Rage in the Cage 43: The Match | Submission (Strikes) | Round 1, 0:52 |
| 8/6/2004 | Win | Timothy Mendoza | King of the Cage 39 | TKO (Strikes) | Round 2, 3:31 |
| 10/8/2006 | Loss | Junggyu Choi | Spirit-MC9 | Submission (Keylock) | Round 2, 3:51 |
