MMA
CSAC’s Andy Foster: Herb Dean made right call in Pereira-Gane fight
Published
3 months agoon
Foster believes Herb Dean made
the right call in the Ciryl Gane
vs. Alex
Pereira bout.
The California State Athletic Commission executive director
defended Dean’s handling of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship interim title bout between Gane
and Pereira. The
UFC Freedom 250 co-headliner ended in a technical knockout
victory for the Frenchman, but Pereira subsequently pointed out
that illegal back-of-the-head shots were pivotal in the finishing
sequence.
CSAC official says other referees would've done the same as
Herb Dean at UFC Freedom 250
Dean has faced immense scrutiny in recent weeks after Pereira
accused him of mishandling his loss to Gane. The spotlight has been
firmly on the veteran referee since the White House event, with
fans and fighters pointing out alleged errors in his past and
recent outings.
Pereira argues that Dean should have intervened after Gane landed
multiple punches to the back of his head before the finish.
However, Foster believes that the right call was made, claiming
that other high-profile referees would've also let the bout
continue.
“That looked like a normal fight to me,†Foster told MMA Fighting.
“There was no doubt a few of them got through and hit [the back of
the head]. The question is what do you do in that situation? Do you
stop the action? I don't think many referees would have, if any,
certainly at the high level.â€
Foster believes Dean handled the situation appropriately.
“I told Herb, in my view, you don't want to warn a lot of
times.â€
Foster then explained that halting the action for the fouls could
have unfairly altered the outcome by allowing Pereira time to
recover after being rocked with a legal shot.
“That's the dilemma,†Foster said. “So, what do you do? That is
exactly Herb's dilemma, and I think it's worse if he stops it.â€
He further added that the criticism aimed at Dean was excessive and
reiterated his full confidence in the longtime official.
“I think Herb Dean's a good referee,†Foster added. “You'll see
Herb Dean on the main event of my upcoming UFCs because Herb Dean
is the senior referee in California. Herb Dean has my full
confidence.â€
CSAC executive director Andy Foster
responds to complaints about Herb Dean after
Ciryl
Gane’s controversial win over Alex
Pereira at
#UFCWhiteHouse:“I think Herb Dean's a
good referee. … Herb Dean has
my full confidence.”(🎥 @DamonMartin)
pic.twitter.com/NjHQYAa4tj— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting)
July 22, 2026
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Brendan Allen was dealing with a lot more than high stakes ahead of his big main event bout this past Saturday in Las Vegas.
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There were moments in the fight where Allen looked like he couldn't get out of first gear, and Allen's teammate and friend Belal Muhammad shared why that could've been — revealing Allen entered fight week with a gnarly staph infection and had to compete on antibiotics. Check out the image below, which was shown in the original Twitter post, but then switched out with a different photo.
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Andre Fili discusses not landing extra shots after epic UFC knockout: ‘I’m a criminal, but I’m not a piece of s***’
Published
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Andre Fili knows where to draw the line.
On Saturday, Fili scored possibly the best knockout of his career, knocking out Kai Kamaka III with a head kick on the main card of UFC Vegas 122. The finish was brutal, putting Kamaka out before he even hit the canvas, but as he rushed forward to finish the fight, Fili pulled up before landing any follow-up shots, realizing Kamaka was unconscious.
At his post-fight press conference afterward, Fili expounded on the moment.
“I say this all the time: I'm a criminal, but I'm not a piece of shit,†Fili said. “I don't litter. I treat people with respect. And when I knock someone out, there's no reason to land that extra shot. He's got kids, he's got a wife, he's got a future outside of fighting. It's just not necessary, man. I hope he's OK. I didn't even really want to watch the replay back.
“Hurting people is part of the sport. I like being good at fighting. I like winning fights. I like getting paid to win fights. I like being on TV. Hurting people is a byproduct of that; it's not a driving force for me. So I'm not gonna land that extra shot.â€
Widely seen as one of the “good guys†of MMA, Fili has been a UFC veteran since 2013, and seemed to be getting emotional during his post-fight scrum. When asked about why, Fili explained.
“I poured everything I am, and everything I have into this performance, and I just really — I'm not scared of anybody in that cage,†Fili said. “Any apprehension or nerves or excitement or butterflies, it's all because I want to perform. I want to make my people proud, I want to make myself proud. I want to perform the way I know I can perform. And when it works out that way, it feels really good.
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