Herb Dean is an American professional mixed martial arts referee for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), actor and former fighter as well as a retired fighter. He is 2-3 in professional MMA with one win coming via submission and the other via technical knockout. UFC president Dana White, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, articles covering MMA in ESPN.com, Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, SB Nation (mmamania.com), Fightland, and other publications have called him the gold standard for referees in MMA. He refereed between Tim Sylvia and Frank Mir for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 48 and called a ‘stop’ to the fight when he saw Sylvia’s right forearm break due to an armbar. Sylvia then thanked Dean for saving his career by ending the fight when he did. His nickname is The Predator, The Gold Standard. Іn the year 2012, hе wаѕ fеаturеd іn thе fіlm “Неrе Соmеѕ thе Вооm”. In the year 2019, hе арреаrеd іn “Тhе Dеvіnе Furу”. Lаtеr іn 2017, hе асtеd іn thе fіlm “А Vіоlеnt Маn”.
Fighters react to Sean O’Malley vs. Kris Moutinho, Herb Dean stoppage
Sean O’Malley beat Kris Moutinho from pillar to post and appeared to be well on his way to a lopsided decision win at UFC 264. Then referee Herb Dean interrupted the carnage, and the internet erupted. Fighters gave Moutinho high praise and let Dean have it for waiving off the fight at 4:33 of the third and final round of the pay-per-view opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. O’Malley landed 230 significant strikes to Moutinho’s 70, per UFC stats, but his colleagues were largely unhappy with the result.
Famous For
- Being a professional mixed martial arts referee for the UFC.
- Being one of the best referees and the gold standard for referees in MMA.
- Being named Referee of the Year at the World MMA Awards every year from 2010-2012.
- Widely credited with saving fighter Tim Sylvia’s career after he stopped a fight upon seeing that Sylvia’s arm was broken.
Source: @instagram.com/herbdeanmma
Where is Herb Dean from?
Herb Dean was born on 30th September 1970. His birthplace is in Pasadena, California, the USA. He holds American nationality and his ethnic background is Mixed of African-American. His race is black. As of 2020, he celebrated his 50th birthday. Libra is his Zodiac sign and his religion is Christian. More information about his parents and siblings is still to get unfold yet.
Herb Dean started training in martial arts at 9 years old practicing various different disciplines throughout his teens. When he was 23, he started training Kenpo under the late Frank Trejo, who was a 9th-degree black belt. He had a complete MMA training regiment.
How was the Career of Herb Dean?
- Herb Dean refereed about between Tim Sylvia and Frank Mir for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 48 which was held on 19th June 2004. He called a ‘stop’ to the fight when he saw Sylvia’s right forearm break due to an armbar at 0:50 (50 seconds) of round one.
- Despite Dean’s telling him “Stop, stop, stop! The fight is over!” Once freed from the armbar, Sylvia again began to argue with Dean, who continually told him, “It’s fucking broken! Your arm is broken”.
- In the post-fight interview, Sylvia again denied that his arm was broken, however, the slow-motion replay showed the break happening, and an X-Ray that evening showed significant damage to Sylvia’s arm, which required surgery and a long recovery. Later, Sylvia thanked Dean for saving his career by ending the fight when he did.
- He served as referee of the highly anticipated rematch between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock on 8th July 2006 at UFC 61. He stopped the fight following several consecutive unanswered elbows to the head of Shamrock by Ortiz, giving the victory to Ortiz by TKO. As Shamrock, visibly angered, immediately protested the decision; a rematch was held during Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter with Ortiz once again claiming victory in a very similar fashion to the second fight, although Shamrock did not question this decision.
- Next, he was the referee during the bout between Mirko Cro Cop and Gabriel Gonzag on 21st April 2007 at UFC 70.
- UFC president Dana White stated after UFC 109 and UFC 160, that he thinks Dean “is one of the best referees in this business. Actually, I think he’s the best” in reference to his stoppage in the fight between Mike Swick and Paulo Thiago. He also added that after Dean’s stoppage of the Mir vs. Sylvia fight he never questions Dean. “When Herb Dean does shit, I don’t even question it anymore. I wait for the replay. This guy sees shit that I can’t see sitting there watching the monitor.”
- He caused controversy over his stoppage of the main card fight Renan Barão vs. Urijah Faber for the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 169. Then, UFC president Dana White criticized Dean saying, “he made a mistake”.
- Furthermore, he was heavily criticized for a late stoppage during his refereeing of a fight between Khalid Murtazaliev and C. B. Dollaway at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik.
- He was criticized by UFC president Dana White after he awarded a win to Ben Askren via bulldog choke against Robbie Lawler at UFC 235.
Awards and Achievements
Herb Dean is a professional mixed martial arts referee who has won Fighters Only Magazine’s World MMA Awards Referee of the Year in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, and 2019 (July 2020). He missed out on the award in 2015 to “Big” John McCarthy for the first time since the category was introduced.
Source: @instagram.com/herbdeanmma
Who is Herb Dean Wife?
Herb Dean is a married man & he is a father of three children; two daughters and a son with his beautiful Russian wife. He loves to spend time playing with his kids. He is leading a happy life with his family. His sexual orientation is straight and he is not gay. He is neither gay nor bisexual.
Source: @instagram.com/herbdeanmma
How much is Herb Dean Net Worth?
Herb Dean is a professional referee whose net worth is estimated to have $2 Million as of 2021. He approximately $380,000 annually from officiating (more on this later). He gets paid around $1500 per fight, for main card bouts in the UFC. He also runs a gym called Fight Academy Pasadena (aka Herb Dean MMA). Additionally, he runs certification courses that you can take to become a certified MMA ref or judge. His major source of wealth comes from his referee career and he is living a standard lifestyle from his earnings.
How tall is Herb Dean?
Herb Dean is a handsome referee with an average body build. He has a tall height of 6 ft 1 in or 185 cm. His balanced weight consists of 225 lb or 102 Kg or 16 st 1 lb. His hair color and eye color is black. His other body size is unavailable at a moment. Overall, he has got a healthy body with a charming smile.
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