Herb Dean reacts to fan backlash stemming from Joe Rogan's Noche UFC criticism, addresses stopping Merab Dvalishvili in R1
Herb Dean recently addressed coming under fire from fans after commentators Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier criticized some of his actions during the Noche UFC main event. Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley fought for the bantamweight title in the headliner of Noche UFC earlier this month.
In the first round of the fight, Dvalishvili appeared to be trading verbal shots with O'Malley's coach, and the two could be seen shouting at each other. Dean wasn't happy about that and ordered cornerman/coach Tim Welch to stop engaging with Dvalishvili. In the aftermath, many were unhappy to see the veteran referee plug the in-cage drama.
During a recent interview with Helen Yee, Dean addressed stopping the Dvalishvili-Welch yelling match and said:
"I’m not here to be anyone’s parent or anything... We have some great personalities, but there is a rule that the seconds [cornermen] are not to interfere in the fight, and that includes trying to influence the referee. It specifies that, and you definitely can’t influence the other fighter or distract them... It’s in the rules, and that’s what the rule is for." [6:05 mark onwards]
Dean also addressed Rogan and the commentary team, slamming him for asking Dvalishvili to be more active in the fifth round. He said:
"I’ve seen on social media people have spoken about me calling the fighters for more action, and that’s what I’ve always done... That means that what I’m expecting is not busy work, I’m looking for effort to finish the fight. So you either posture or you can potentially set up fight ending attacks or advance your position or effort to advance, or pass the position." [8:13 mark onwards]
Catch Herb Dean's comments below:
Herb Dean addresses Merab Dvalishvili kissing Sean O'Malley mid-fight at Noche UFC
In the same interview, Herb Dean shared his thoughts on Merab Dvalishvili kissing Sean O'Malley's back during a grappling exchange and explained why it was a violation in his eyes.
In the second round of the Dvalishvii-O'Malley bout, the Georgian-born fighter surprisingly pecked his opponent's back while grappling. This led to the Montana native charging at him with a few stray strikes, requiring Dean's intervention.
Speaking to Helen Yee, Dean explained that such behavior was considered "unsportsmanlike" in MMA and said:
"That does fall under unsportsmanlike conduct. It was a little bit romantic. A little too much romance."