MMA referee Herb Dean was trashed by UFC president Dana White following a controversial call during DWCS Week 8.
In the featherweight bout between Ian Escuza and Luca Borando, Escuza dropped his opponent and then started kneeing him on the ground, leading to a first-round TKO finish.
However, one of the knees hit Borando on the head while his knee was down, making him a downed opponent, which is an illegal strike in MMA.
Dean went to instant replay and, along with the Nevada State Athletic Commission officials, decided that the result would stay as a TKO win for Escuza despite the illegal knee being part of the finishing sequence.
After the card, White made his displeasure with Dean’s call known.
Dana White Blasts Herb Dean
Speaking to reporters following DWCS Week 8, White blasted Dean for missing the illegal knee by Escuza.
“What we do is we keep spending money to fund training for these guys to keep training. I don’t disagree with you. Herb Dean’s been around for a long (expletive) time. It’s not like he needs green, and he needs some work. He (expletive) up,” White said.
Despite the blown call, however, White signed Escuza to a UFC contract, as he said that matchmaker Sean Shelby pushed for the Peruvian talent to get a UFC deal, although White personally felt like the fight should have been deemed a No Contest.
Borando, by the way, will get another shot on DWCS, according to White, though he may need to wait until 2027 for that opportunity, since there are only two weeks left in this year’s Season 10 of the show.
Herb Dean Has Been Involved in Several Iffy Fights in 2026
This is far from the only iffy call that Dean has made so far in 2026.
At UFC Freedom 250 in June, Dean ignored several back-of-the-head strikes by Ciryl Gane against Alex Pereira.
There was also a UFC fight between Andre Fili and Vinicius Oliveira that involved back-of-the-head strikes.
Then, there was a fight in MVP MMA that involved a late submission between Adriano Moraes and Phumi Nkuta, which was also highly controversial.
Herb Dean Trashed by Dana White After Controversial DWCS Call