Dana White Admits Herb Dean Having a Rough Year After Controversial Green Stoppage
Dana White called out Herb Dean's rough stretch after the referee stopped King Green vs. Esteban Ribovics at UFC 332.
Dana White is finally saying what the rest of us have been thinking about Herb Dean. At the UFC 332 post-fight press conference on Saturday night, the UFC CEO acknowledged that the veteran referee is "having a rough f---ing year" after another questionable stoppage in Salt Lake City.
The fight in question was the lightweight bout between Esteban Ribovics and King Green. Ribovics came out firing and dropped Green three times in the first round, landing a right hook, a left hook and then following up with ground-and-pound after the third knockdown. Dean stopped the fight at 4:08 of round one, ruling it a TKO.
Green was not happy about it. The 40-year-old veteran told fans afterward that he "wanted to still keep fighting" and said he felt fine despite hitting the canvas three times. He took it in stride, posting "sh-t happens" on social media, but admitted he was "a little mad" about the stoppage and wanted to get back in the cage soon.
White walked a careful line at the presser, saying he had "seen worse stoppages" while still acknowledging that Dean's 2026 has been rough. It is the latest in a string of Dean controversies this year. Alex Pereira publicly called for Dean's removal from UFC events, and fighters including Henry Cejudo and Michel Pereira have voiced complaints about his officiating.
Dean has been one of MMA's most respected referees for two decades, but the criticism is stacking up in a way that is hard to ignore.
Look, three knockdowns in one round is a lot. I get why Dean stopped it. But King Green is a grown man who has been fighting professionally for almost two decades, and he was getting up every time. The third knockdown was the only one where the stoppage even enters the conversation, and Green was scrambling. Let a veteran fight.
The bigger issue is the pattern. When Dana White, the guy who almost never publicly criticizes officials, goes on camera and says your year has been rough, that is the politest version of what the rest of the organization is thinking. Dean has been a great referee for a long time. But at some point the commission has to look at the body of work in 2026 and ask whether he needs a break. Not a firing. A reset. For his own sake as much as anybody else's.
