Dana White criticises Herb Dean after contentious stoppage at UFC 332
Referee Herb Dean stopped the lightweight bout between King Green and Esteban Ribovics at UFC 332 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, last night, prompting a reaction from UFC President Dana White.
The stoppage drew immediate criticism online.
Dean was the referee for the main-card lightweight clash and halted the contest after Green was knocked down three times in the first round. Green remained conscious when the fight was stopped and believed he should have been allowed to continue. The decision reignited debate; the report noted Dean has been involved in several disputed stoppages in recent months.
Green also reacted to the loss and stoppage, saying: "Sh*t happens, I told myself, regardless or not, I’m not gonna be mad at myself, but I’m a little mad. I told Herb, this is gonna get sticky. Let me go out on my shield. I was still fine. I wanted to keep fighting. I felt like we were getting somewhere. But it was a great fight. Shout out to everybody that supported and everybody that was cheering me on. I love you guys. I’m fine. I’m great. I felt like I’m gonna fight next f—king week. You know what I mean? And so, thank you so much for the support. I love you guys and I will be back very soon." Green said via his IG stories.
Dana White addressed the stoppage at the post-fight press conference, saying: "Herb’s having a rough f—king year, Listen, you know, Bobby was laying there going … you know … but he got dropped like three times in a row. So, I’ve seen worse stoppages."
Esteban Ribovics extended his win streak to two with the victory after a prior loss to Mateusz Gamrot. He is currently 7-3 in the UFC and 17-3 overall. In his previous outing he defeated Edson Barboza via TKO in Round 1 at UFC 330 in August.
On the same card, Natalia Silva defeated Wang Cong by unanimous decision (48–47, 48–47, 49–46) to capture the vacant Flyweight title and move to a nine-fight win streak. In the co-main event, Payton Talbott scored a TKO over former Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the first round, adding to a run that included a prior win over Henry Cejudo.
Esteban Ribovics defeated King Green by TKO at 4:08 of the first round after dropping Green three times.