Herb Dean is one of the best known MMA referees (Imago)
Herb Dean decided to stop the main event of UFC 273 early
The UFC 273 main event wasn’t as close a contest as some would have expected. Alexander Volkanovski defended his UFC Featherweight title against The Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung.
The Korean is known to be extremely tough in the Octagon but Volkanovski dominated his rival fight from the first second.
There were some heavy hits from the Australian, and although the Korean kept on coming, Herb Dean decided to call the fight early, and possibly save Sung Jung.
UFC referees have faced the ire of fans, fighters and media personnel for a long time thanks to some early stoppages and decisions.
However, this one from Dean was met with a lot of praise all across the board. One of them was from Anthony Smith.
The former UFC Light Heavyweight contender was quick to raise his hands and say that he has called out referees previously. However, he had a ton of praise for Dean after this decision.
“I’ve been critical of refs, probably don’t give them credit enough where it’s due. I need to be better in that aspect.
“With that said, incredible stoppage by Herb Dean right there. I was ready to be done seeing that.”
The 33-year-old Australian has been incredible since moving to the UFC. Volkanovski is undefeated since coming to the UFC and picked up the title from Max Holloway at UFC 245.
The rematch at UFC 251 was a close contest but Volkanovski kept the title. Volk’s next fight was against Brian Ortega, and he dominated his rival in that outing too.
This win over Sung Jung should end all discussion about Volkanovski not being one of the best. He might be the best Featherweight Champion the UFC has ever seen and seems set to dominate for a while.
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