{"id":41841,"date":"2026-02-06T23:21:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T04:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/06\/ex-ufc-champion-blasts-worst-referee-ever-following-controversial-incident-at-ufc-325\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T23:21:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T04:21:34","slug":"ex-ufc-champion-blasts-worst-referee-ever-following-controversial-incident-at-ufc-325","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/06\/ex-ufc-champion-blasts-worst-referee-ever-following-controversial-incident-at-ufc-325\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-UFC Champion Blasts &#8216;Worst Referee Ever&#8217; Following Controversial Incident at UFC 325"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/06\/ex-ufc-champion-blasts-worst-referee-ever-following-controversial-incident-at-ufc-325\/#Jorge_Masvidal_Criticizes_Herb_Deans_Officiating_in_UFC_325_Co-Main\" >Jorge Masvidal Criticizes Herb Dean\u2019s Officiating in UFC 325 Co-Main<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/06\/ex-ufc-champion-blasts-worst-referee-ever-following-controversial-incident-at-ufc-325\/#Dan_Hookers_Tough_Battles_Arent_New\" >Dan Hooker\u2019s Tough Battles Aren\u2019t New<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>Nearly a week ago at UFC 325, Benoit Saint-Denis delivered a punishing knockout blow to Dan Hooker in the event\u2019s co-main attraction.<\/p>\n<p>Last Saturday, Premier Promotions returned to Australia for a numbered event, with UFC 325 featuring Alexander Volkanovski successfully defending his title against Diego Lopez in the main event.<\/p>\n<p>The semi-main event saw lightweight contenders Dan Hooker and Beno\u00eet Saint-Denis engage in an intense showdown. Hooker started strong and dominated the second round, but was ultimately overpowered and brutally ground-and-pounded by the French fighter.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Jorge_Masvidal_Criticizes_Herb_Deans_Officiating_in_UFC_325_Co-Main\"><\/span>Jorge Masvidal Criticizes Herb Dean\u2019s Officiating in UFC 325 Co-Main<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Hooker\u2019s grappling defense has long faced criticism, and throughout his bout with \u201cGod of War\u201d Saint-Denis, he showed little improvement. After the vicious beating, former title contender Jorge Masvidal openly criticized veteran referee Herb Dean, accusing him of allowing the fight to go on too long.<\/p>\n<p>Saint-Denis kept landing punches on Hooker for an extended period until Dean finally stopped the fight, sparing Hooker from further unnecessary damage. However, Masvidal argued that the intervention came too late and labeled Dean \u201cthe worst referee of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Watching the fight unfold, Masvidal remarked, \u201cOh, who\u2019s the referee? Let me guess, Herb Dean. Great, what\u2019s he waiting for to stop the fight, brother? Yep, Herb, it\u2019s just a fight, no rush. No, Hooker is definitely defending intelligently, Herb.\u201d He added, \u201cI don\u2019t want to detract from Saint-Denis\u2019 performance, but wow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Masvidal continued, \u201cAs I\u2019ve said throughout my career, Herb Dean is the worst referee ever. He\u2019s been in this spot for over a minute and a half, taking about 15 unanswered shots. Terrible officiating. No disrespect to Herb \u2013 he\u2019s a good guy \u2013 but when it comes to refereeing, he just doesn\u2019t have it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><br \/>\n<em>Photo by Mark Kolbe Photography\/Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dan_Hookers_Tough_Battles_Arent_New\"><\/span>Dan Hooker\u2019s Tough Battles Aren\u2019t New<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Known as \u201cThe Hangman,\u201d Hooker has been a staple in major promotions for some time, but this brutal defeat is not his first. His 2020 fight against Dustin Poirier remains one of the most memorable and wild battles in recent history, ending in a unanimous decision loss for Hooker.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Fan Take:<\/strong> This intense matchup and the controversy over referee Herb Dean\u2019s timing highlight ongoing challenges in fight officiating, emphasizing the need for clear standards to protect fighters. For fans, it\u2019s a reminder that every split-second decision in the octagon can shape careers and the sport\u2019s integrity moving forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nearly a week ago at UFC 325, Benoit Saint-Denis delivered a punishing knockout blow to Dan Hooker in the event\u2019s co-main attraction. Last Saturday, Premier Promotions returned to Australia for a numbered event, with UFC 325 featuring Alexander Volkanovski successfully defending his title against Diego Lopez in the main event. The semi-main event saw lightweight [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2443],"tags":[2444],"class_list":{"0":"post-41841","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fighting","8":"tag-fighting"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}