"I was so close to stopping that fight" - When Herb Dean said to Joe Rogan that Robbie Lawler nearly beat Ben Askren at UFC 235

Joe Rogan (left), Robbie Lawler vs. Ben Askren (center), Herb Dean (right) [Images courtesy of JRE Clips on YouTube]

Joe Rogan and UFC referee Herb Dean discussed Robbie Lawler and Ben Askren's bout at UFC 235 on episode #61 of the JRE MMA Show in 2019. Dean stated that he was very close to stopping the fight after Lawler had Askren in real trouble in the first round.

Askren eventually turned the fight around after being slammed on the head early in the bout. Speaking about Lawler's impactful ground strikes against 'Funky' following the slam, the UFC referee said:

"Robbie had him in, he had him [Askren] in trouble. You know I was so close to stopping that fight."

Watch the full JRE MMA Show clip here:

Dean went on to say that there were "so many times" that he felt the fight could have been stopped while Lawler was issuing ruthless ground-and-pound to a dazed Askren. The bout would eventually end in controversy, with many feeling that the referee stopped the fight prematurely.

ROBBIE LAWLER IS A MAD MAN!!!

#UFC235 https://t.co/XfMJnn30dv

Askren was awarded the victory via submission, but to many, it didn't look like Lawler had passed out or tapped to his opponent's bulldog choke. Dean spoke about his decision to stop the fight later on in the conversation:

"The amount of respect I have for those two athletes man is like - so that's the thing is, we never wanna see anything that could make you have a feeling that it's inconclusive, but I can't think what else I should have done."

"It was one of those things where we watched it and went holy s**t" - When Joe Rogan rewatched Jorge Masvidal KO Ben Askren at UFC 239

On episode #1322 of the JRE podcast, Joe Rogan rewatched Jorge Masvidal's record-breaking KO against Ben Askren at UFC 239. Askren had just beaten Robbie Lawler in his UFC debut, but lasted only five seconds against Masvidal.

Even after rewatching the knockout, Rogan was still amazed by 'Gambred's' spectacular performance. While speaking to podcast guest Reggie Watts, the UFC commentator stated:

"It's all over the internet you wanna see it? It takes five seconds. It was one of those things where we watched it and went 'holy s**t,' like as it happened."

Watch the full JRE clip below:

Joe Rogan said that it was really a three-second knockout but was later deemed in the record books as five seconds. Reggie Watts asked the JRE host why Jorge Masvidal was shouting at an unconscious Ben Askren, which led Rogan to explain the genuine 'beef' between the two fighters:

"They hated each other, yeah they hated each other. Jorge Masvidal said that guy [Askren] was taunting him for like 10 years."