Demetrious Johnson says Herb Dean “did a good job” officiating clinch battle with Adriano Moraes

Demetrious Johnson was happy with the way his trilogy bout against Adriano Moraes was officiated.

ONE Fight Night 10 played host to the final meeting between flyweight greats Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes. After 25 grueling minutes of action, ‘Mighty Mouse’ walked out with his ONE flyweight world championship intact after scoring a unanimous decision win over his Brazilian rival.

Throughout the five-round affair, Johnson and Moraes engaged in a clinch battle against the Circle walls, each one lobbying for the advantage while looking for an opening to land a big fight-ending shot.

Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Demetrious Johnson shared his thoughts on the officiating during the clinch-heavy contest and spoke on the few instances where referee Herb Dean broke them up due to a lack of action.

“I thought Herb did a good job. I mean he kept pushing the pace, he kept active, and he never broke us up,” Johnson said. “I think he never broke us up when I had him [Adriano] to the cage, but each time Adriano had me to the cage and I’m trying to move with an elbow, he would break it up probably because he wouldn’t see enough action from Adriano.”

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With win number 25 in the books, Demetrious Johnson will step back for a bit to determine the next step in his storied mixed martial arts career. After closing out his trilogy with Adriano Moraes, there is little left for the multi-time world champion to prove, but if fans get their wish, we will see ‘Mighty Mouse’ back in action before the year is up.

If you missed any of the action, or just want to relive one of the most epic nights in ONE Championship history, the ONE Fight Night 10 replay can be watched live via Amazon Prime Video in North America.

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