Herb Dean may have “saved” Edson Barboza at UFC 330.
One of the most memorable moments on the undercard of Islam Makhachev’s first welterweight title defense was Barboza’s final fight.
Among the matchups that set the stage for Makhachev’s win over Ian Machado Garry was the 40-year-old’s brutal beating at the hands of Esteban Ribovics.
The Brazilian veteran was finished via TKO in the second round, but the referee’s decision to intervene split opinion in the MMA community.
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What’s your favorite moment from Edson Barboza’s career?
The prolific KO artist retired after suffering his fourth loss in a row at UFC 330.
Edson Barboza reveals he thanked Herb Dean inside the cage at UFC 330 for saving him
Herb Dean has been coming under fire from all corners in recent times, with current fighters, retired vets, and fans taking aim at the veteran official’s decisions inside the Octagon.
Leading the criticism has been Alex Pereira, who was left furious following the fight-ending sequence of his interim heavyweight title clash against Ciryl Gane on the White House lawn.
Pereira wants Dean to be fired after allowing some alleged back-of-the-head punches go unpunished. A number of incidents since then have only increased the scrutiny.
Last Saturday, however, Barboza insists that Dean got it spot on when he intervened to stop Ribovics from continuing to pummel him with punches.
“A hundred percent,” Barboza said during an interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn when asked if he thought Dean’s stoppage “saved” him.
“When he stopped the fight, I come to him and said, ‘Bro, thank you.’
“Because I’m there, but I’m not there,” he continued. “I know I could keep fighting like that, but at the same time, if the guy caught me once more with a hard shot, I could have been in big trouble.
“Come on, it’s my last fight. I don’t want to be in the hospital. I said thank you to him (Dean).”
Barboza’s comments come after UFC GOAT contender Demetrious Johnson had praised Dean’s UFC 330 stoppage in his reaction video following the event in Philadelphia.
While it was still a brutal end to the Brazilian’s career, which spanned 33 fights across 16 years, it could have been much worse had Dean allowed the beating by Ribovics to continue.
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