Former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub became the latest member of the MMA community to criticize referee Herb Dean.
The long-time MMA official has come under fire in recent weeks for controversial fights between Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane, Andre Fili vs. Vinicius Oliveira, and Michel Pereira vs. Shara Magomedov, where the winners in all three cases committed fouls, yet did not receive point deductions for their infractions.
All three losers of those fights have taken to social media to rip Dean, and now Schaub — the longtime former UFC heavyweight-turned-podcaster — is also speaking out.
Brendan Schaub Rips Herb Dean
Speaking on the “Big Brown Breakdown” podcast, Schaub ripped Dean for his inactivity in recent fights and his refusal to take points away from fighters who commit fouls in their fights.
“The narrative on Magomedov’s fight against Michel Pereira, it’s not Shara Bullet. It’s Herb Dean has once again inserted himself into the controversy, and I think for Herb his issue is he doesn’t want to insert himself into the fight and be one of the reasons a fighter loses, stuff like that. But when you’re in that octagon, you’re the sheriff. You’ve got to make sure things are going according to code. You have to. That’s why you’re in there. He just doesn’t take responsibility,” Schaub said (via MMAFighting.com).
”When he issued the statement or when he showed the video after the Poatan fight, I’m like, ‘Well, this ain’t good.’ Then you have the fight after that with our boy Fili, which is pretty evident, now it’s a common theme. It’s not happening to all referees, it’s happening to Herb Dean. This is three in a row. At some point, you have to insert yourself, and I just don’t understand why are you so scared to take a point? Why are you so scared?”
Brendan Schaub Explains Why Fighters Cheat With Herb Dean as Ref
According to Schaub, the reason so many fighters are cheating with Dean as the referee is that they know he is unlikely to take points away for committing fouls, so they might as well take advantage of breaking the rules since the referee won’t do anything to punish them for it.
“If you’re a fighter, it’s not even that they’re dirty, but you’re going to play in the gray to get away with what you can, and if Herb’s your ref, it’s like, yeah dude, kick to the groin if you want, don’t worry about it. Go ahead and poke him in the eyes, don’t worry about it. He’s not going to do (expletive). Go ahead and grab hair, grab the fence, get away with as much as possible. He’s just so timid, so scared to take a fricking point. I don’t get it. I do not get it,” Schaub said.
“Herb Dean should go completely the opposite direction and have no wiggle room and just be strict as hell, no warnings, taking points. And then when Herb’s your ref, they’re going, ‘Certain refs we can mess around with. Herb, you do not mess around, he’s going to take a point.’ I guarantee you, eye pokes, groin kicks, fence grabs, hair pulls, all go away. All go away. The only reason you’re seeing this three fights in a row, these boys know, Herb ain’t going to do (expletive).”
Brendan Schaub Blasts Ref Herb Dean: ‘Why Are You So Scared?’