Jorge Masvidal Blasts Referee Herb Dean and MMA Judging

Former UFC star Jorge Masvidal held nothing back during a recent interview with Full Send MMA, launching a fierce critique against veteran referee Herb Dean and the state of fight judging. Masvidal stated that Dean gets incredibly nervous inside the cage, overcomplicates his job, and consistently stops bouts either too early or too late.

To illustrate his point, Masvidal highlighted two major officiating blunders. First, he expressed anger over the recent matchup between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane, where Dean allowed Gane to land multiple unpenalized, illegal shots to the back of Pereira's head. Masvidal also pointed to Justin Gaethje’s knockout of Dustin Poirier, where Dean jumped in completely unnecessarily and accidentally elbowed Poirier in the face while trying to separate them.

Beyond refereeing errors, Masvidal questioned the fundamental consistency of MMA judging. He claimed that many judges appear distracted or poorly prepared during rounds, suggesting that their decisions often lack logical explanation or connection to the actual action in the cage. In Masvidal's opinion this is either a sign of full distraction or obvious corruption.