Herb Dean, arguably the unluckiest referee in MMA, had another tough night on Wednesday at WEC 30. He was once again thrown in the middle of a title fight featuring the sharp striking Muay Thai Champion in "Razor" Rob McCullough and the always ferocious Rich "Cleat" Crunkilton. The fight lasted all but 1:29 into the first round with MMA fans crying early stoppage once again. Rob McCullough emphatically dominated the standup fight in this matchup. He not only won the fight, but he won it by blasting Crunkilton with punch after punch after punch in a fight that was reminiscent of the gopher/mallet games at a carnival. Crunkilton goes down, gets back up, gets smashed again, gets back up, gets a straight right to the face, goes down.. it was a masterfully brutal standup win for McCullough.
As I'm watching this fight, I can't help but notice during the last punch that McCullough threw and Crunkilton crumples to the mat again, the camera pans down and Crunkilton is once again trying to get back to his feet. Herb Dean calls the fight, and immediately in the back of my mind I am thinking... here comes the controversy. It seems Herb Dean is surrounded by it. What was wrong with the call in this fight? In my mind, nothing was wrong with it. Crunkilton was being bludgeoned to death by McCullough's fists and people are actually saying it was an early stoppage? Come on! Crunkilton was finished and my typical answer is this... if you wanted to have a chance, you should have learned to either take a punch, avoid eating multiple face shots, or actually believed in the gameplan everybody on the internet, in MMA, and in the arena was thinking you would do, take him down immediately. None of that happened and Herb Dean called a stoppage that was warranted.
What other fights have been subject to spark debate on whether Herb Dean should be fired? The most significant one was the Tim Sylvia vs. Frank Mir fight. Frank Mir came out, latched onto Sylvia's arm and basically sunk all his weight on it, breaking it. Once Dean stopped the fight, Sylvia walked around the Octagon saying the fight wasn't over, it was going to continue. Fact is, the replay told the story and Herb Dean was standing front and center watching Sylvia's arm. It was clear Sylvia's arm snapped, but did that make the MMA fanbase happy... NO! The fans in the Arena felt ripped off and that Herb Dean had robbed them of their evening. Give me a break... literally. Sylvia's arm completely snapped. The skin on the arm popped out like it had a gigantic neon on it flashing "I'm Broke, I'm Broke". The reaction was laughable the next day. There were some fans who said it didn't even break, who were so blinded by their love for the game that they looked past the safety of the fighters. There were others who said it wasn't broken, but since Sylvia didn't tap, the fight should continue. Listen, there are plenty of fights where guys break bones and don't tap, but it is a complete disadvantage to the fighter and unfair for him to have to fight someone who doesn't have that kind of disability. It's also the referee's perogative to see that the fighter's health comes first and foremost. Herb Dean did just that, and the on-site doctor confirmed it. Done deal.
Tito Ortiz vs. Shamrock II. Do I even really need to say anymore? Early Stoppage? Tito demolished Shamrock. The fight was over. Herb Dean gets a bad rap for a lot of fights, but overall he's done a fantastic job looking out for the well-being of each fighter that steps into the Octagon. Dean also referees various organizations in multiple states and works a very high number of MMA shows per year. Having that many fights under your belt, you are bound to always have some fights that could have went either way as far as stopping and starting the fight. Let's look at a few.
At WEC 30, Herb Dean missed the headbutt by Bryan Baker to Jesse Forbes. If you look closely to the replay, his head actually hits Jesse's shoulder. Nonetheless, a point should have been deducted from Baker. Fact is, it didn't effect Forbes and Forbes got sprawled out on his legs and pounded from the back anyways. The headbutt didn't substantially help Baker win, if it even helped him while he was already pounding Forbes anyways. Let it slide, fans are wasting energy on something that was significant. Dean was accused of standing the fight up too early during the Mirko "Crocop" - Gabriel Gonzaga matchup. When the UFC has someone like Mirko "Crocop" in the ring who is a pure striker and it's on free television, have a brain please. Of course he stood it up, people wanted to see a knockout by Mirko "Crocop", but instead got a surprise flash of greatness from Gabriel Gonzaga. What are you complaining about? Oh.. because Mirko got dethroned of his greatness? Mirko "Crocop" is still regarded as one of the most fearsome strikers in MMA, and I'm sure he can come back and prove that the UFC faithful, but getting completely flustered because you think Herb Dean is a horrible referee is ridiculous.
There are various other happenings during matches that could be mentioned, notably the Nate Quarry vs. Pete Sell and Rich Franklin vs. Evan Tanner. Fact is, Herb Dean is a QUALITY REFEREE. He's quality. He's there to make sure the fight goes smooth, but if a fighter is hurt and his health is at risk, Herb Dean steps in and does the job right. All of the fans out there wanting to see nasty arm breakages and people being decapitated in the ring, I'm sure your local Best Buy has a section under "Action Movies" that'll fit just right in that time slot where you actually complained during the UFC event.