Herb Dean recalls receiving threats from UFC veteran and getting punched by Daniel Cormier: "He says it wasn't on purpose"
Herb Dean has discussed a couple of notable experiences from his career as an MMA referee. He revisited allegedly being threatened by a veteran UFC fighter and getting punched by former two-division champion Daniel Cormier. Dean (2-3 MMA) competed as a heavyweight in mixed martial arts and eventually rose to prominence as a referee.
Dean has been officiating fights for around two decades and is regarded as one of the greatest MMA referees ever. Nevertheless, akin to other referees, he's faced his fair share of criticism too. MMA referees are often lambasted by fans and experts if they stop a fight too early or too late.
In a recent appearance on The Casuals MMA podcast, Herb Dean was asked whether any fighters had threatened him for calling off a fight early. Dean responded by claiming former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell threatened him before a fight.
Apparently, 'The Iceman' disapproved of a decision Dean made in one of the fights he'd officiated and warned him against doing that when he would officiate his (Liddell's) fight. Dean stated:
"Probably some [fighters issued threats]. Chuck Liddell used to try to make preemptive threats, like, 'I saw what happened with this fight earlier on that you did.' He used to be after the show after he'd been partying, he's coming in back in, and, 'If you do that to me, I'm whooping your a**.'"
That said, Dean clarified that most fighters and other people associated with MMA are generally very respectful. He underscored that mostly, "people aren't threatening and things like that."
Check out Herb Dean's comments below (18:37-20:30):
Herb Dean recounts getting punched by UFC great Daniel Cormier
In the 32:30-34:38-minute part of the aforementioned podcast episode featuring Herb Dean, the legendary referee revisited the first fight between bitter rivals Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. Then-UFC light heavyweight champion Jones defeated Cormier via unanimous decision at UFC 182 (Jan. 2015).
Dean, who officiated the fight, alluded to being inadvertently punched by Cormier toward the end of the fifth and final round. The 53-year-old explained that with 10 seconds left, Jones raised hands and seemingly walked away. Cormier didn't go after 'Bones' and disengaged, but Jones hit him after that.
Furthermore, Dean highlighted that Cormier was rightfully angry and started striking back out of indignation. That was when a punch grazed Jones' face and hit Dean. The referee jested that he probably couldn't have absorbed that punch and stayed on his feet if it were in the first round.
Dean said:
"He [Cormier] says it wasn't on purpose. I think he was so frustrated, he would just want to hit me because it was a frustrating moment ... The punch hit Jon first and then hit me."
In the ensuing years, Cormier captured the UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight titles. 'DC' retired from MMA in Aug. 2020. Jones is a former UFC light heavyweight champion and the reigning UFC heavyweight champion. Meanwhile, Dean continues serving as an MMA referee.