UFC commentator Joe Rogan made some claims about the main event of UFC 300 between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill that have drawn the ire of veteran referee Herb Dean.
During the fight, Dean paused the action briefly after Hill accidentally landed a low blow on Pereira. As Dean approached the fighters to check on Pereira, the Brazilian waved him off, indicating that he was ready to continue. Rogan later suggested that this brief pause allowed Pereira to gain an unfair advantage and set up the knockout victory.
Rogan made these comments as far back as late April:
“I didn’t think anything of it at the time and then I watched it again I was like, there’s kind of a point there. And the point is, Jamahal accidentally hits him low, he like kicks him in the hip and Herb Dean comes in to stop it, then he (Pereira) does the super gangster thing but in the meantime, Jamahal has stopped and relaxed after he threw the kick, he gives him a thumbs up like you cool…”
According to Rogan, the pause between Herb Dean being waved away by Pereira and Hill relaxing for a moment was enough for Pereira to close the distance and advance forward against his opponent.
“…All of a sudden he’s on him and he hits him with that left hook. And I think Jamahal is saying, I would have never let him that close to me if it wasn’t for that nut shot and I didn’t know exactly what was going on.”
However, Dean strongly disagrees with Rogan’s assessment. “There’s a couple of analysts in our sport who are really good at picking out sensational things, and they’re so sincere when they talk that talk,” Dean said in a podcast appearance. “I mean, I think they can talk you into believing their words over your lying eyes.”
Dean maintains that his handling of the situation was entirely appropriate and that Pereira did not take any steps towards Hill during the brief pause. “What’s the funniest part about this? After I call time out, no one moves,” Dean explained. “I went back and looked at that, that was one of the ones, right away, I was like, ‘Huh? How was that? Was that mechanically correct? Was it clean?’ I watched it. I was like, ‘Yeah, that looked clean’.”
The veteran referee went on to suggest that Rogan’s comments were more about generating clicks and sensationalism than accurately reflecting what happened in the fight. “The truth doesn’t matter,” Dean said. “Maybe they know their job is to get clicks.”
This is not the first time that Dean has had to defend his actions in the Pereira vs. Hill fight. Jamahal Hill himself expressed some frustration after the bout, suggesting that a “more clean and better reset” could have been the difference-maker. However, Dean remains confident that he handled the situation appropriately.
