Referee Herb Dean might be in some real trouble this time. After the whole Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane debacle, the veteran referee was back in the spotlight during the opening fight of UFC Vegas 119’s main card between Vinicius Oliveira and Andre Fili. According to a new report, Fili raised concerns over alleged illegal strikes to the back of his head after the fight, prompting the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) to review the incident. 

“After his loss, Andre Fili complained to Herb Dean that the elbows were to the back of the head,” Alex Behunin of MMA Mania reported on X. “Herb checked Fili’s head and was showing him replays with the commission watching.”

Andre Fili, of course, suffered a TKO loss at 4:56 of the second round. Still, the finish was controversial due to illegal elbows. Oliveira landed multiple standing elbows in the final sequence of the bout, which appeared to land on the back of Fili’s head, opening a cut on the back of his skull. This led to, as Behunin pointed out, Fili’s complaint. Despite that, a point deduction or change in the result hasn’t been announced at the time of writing.

A similar incident occurred during the Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane bout earlier this month at the UFC Freedom 250 card. After dropping Pereira with a stiff jab, Gane unleashed a rapid series of downward elbows and punches, around 10–15 strikes in the sequence, some of which landed on or near the back of Pereira’s head and neck area while he was bent over. This resulted in massive backlash from both fans and experts. 

‘Poatan’ also criticized Herb Dean for allowing the fight to continue despite what he believed were multiple illegal strikes to the back of the head. The former light heavyweight champion argued that Dean should be removed from the commission’s officiating roster and added that he would refuse to compete in any future bout if Dean is assigned as the referee. Although ‘Poatan’ initially considered appealing the decision, he ultimately chose not to.

Tom Aspinall, who was on the receiving end of Gane’s illegal eye-pokes, reacted to Pereira vs. Gane and confirmed that he too felt there were several illegal blows to the back of the head. However, he also acknowledged that Gane had the upper hand in the fight. Dean responded to the allegations in an Instagram post after the backlash started growing, defending himself and claiming Gane’s strikes were above board. 

Returning to Vinicius Oliveira vs. Fili, the pair have not released statements about the controversial end to their fight yet. However, both fighters were awarded $100,000 each as Fight of the Night bonus. As Herb Dean continues to make headlines for the wrong reasons, his biggest critic has shown some sympathy. 

Dan Hardy feels for Herb Dean over the Pereira vs. Gane controversy

Dan Hardy has surprisingly come to Herb Dean’s defense amid the controversy surrounding the referee’s handling of Alex Pereira’s loss to Ciryl Gane. Despite their well-documented history, Hardy admitted he understands the difficult position Dean was in. 

“It’s a difficult circumstance. I feel for Herb,” Hardy told Helen Yee Sports. “People know my thoughts on him. I think he could do a better job. I think he could take more accountability, but also in that chaotic moment, it’s so difficult to judge the occasional illegal strike.”

Hardy explained that stopping the action to assess the strikes would have given Pereira valuable time to recover while Gane was attempting to secure the finish. He also noted that, under the rules, several of the punches in question may have been legal.

Despite that, Hardy feels Herb Dean should avoid officiating high-profile fights for some time. 

It appears Herb Dean is having several bad days at work. But it’s yet to be seen whether such incidents affect his future in officiating major UFC fights.