Referee Herb Dean draws fresh controversy on TUF 34

Herb Dean's troubled run as one of the UFC's most scrutinized referees shows no sign of ending. The veteran official has faced mounting criticism since Alex Pereira loudly protested that Dean had allowed repeated illegal blows to the back of the head to go unpunished during a heavyweight title fight.

Now Dean has sparked fresh confusion on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), the UFC's long-running talent show, with a sequence of decisions that left fighters, commentators and viewers baffled.

This week's episode of TUF 34 featured a bantamweight semifinal between Team Bisping's Ilimbek Akilbekov and Xavier Franklin, two fighters who had grown close during their time on the show. The match carried its own storyline before a single punch was thrown — but all of that was quickly overshadowed by Dean's handling of a chaotic finish.

With about a minute left in the third and final round, Franklin landed a hard right hand that sent Akilbekov reeling. Dean immediately stepped between the two fighters and stopped the contest. The situation grew complicated when Akilbekov protested that he had been eye-poked, prompting Dean to call for a video review.

When a commissioner asked Dean whether the fight could be restarted, Dean said, "Yes, because I called a timeout."

After Akilbekov was given time to recover, the fight resumed with 50 seconds remaining. Akilbekov went on to win by decision, with the dominant wrestling control he had shown in the first two rounds proving decisive. The restart had effectively reversed the outcome.

Local outlets noted that Dean could be clearly heard on the broadcast telling Akilbekov "You're done, stop" at the moment of the stoppage — language that amounts to an unambiguous verbal TKO declaration.

Video footage does show Franklin's open hand making contact near Akilbekov's face, though it is unclear whether a finger actually entered the eye. Regardless, viewers directed sharp criticism at Dean for the confused and inconsistent way he managed the situation.

The central controversy is that Dean initially acted and spoke as though he had definitively ended the fight, only to reverse course and claim he had merely called a timeout.

Dean's current wave of criticism began at UFC Freedom 250 in June, when he allowed Ciryl Gane to land consecutive illegal blows to the back of Alex Pereira's head as Pereira attempted to rise from the ground, before ultimately stopping the fight and awarding Gane a TKO victory.

Dean responded on social media, arguing that the medically defined area constituting the back of the head is extremely narrow and that Pereira had not been struck there. The explanation drew fierce backlash from fighters and fans alike.

In combat sports, fouls such as groin strikes and blows to the back of the head are generally applied broadly to avoid confusion in officiating. A punch or kick that lands below the beltline is typically ruled a foul regardless of whether it made precise contact with the groin — a standard that exists precisely to remove ambiguity.

That same month, at UFC Baku, Dean drew further criticism for taking no action after Shara Magomedov repeatedly poked Michel Pereira in the eye and grabbed his tied hair during their bout. Pereira left the UFC following the loss.