Herb Dean is getting a rare wave of praise for a stoppage, and it comes after months of the opposite.
Dean stepped in to stop Edson Barboza’s UFC 330 fight against Esteban Ribovics at 1:32 of round two, with Ribovics trapping a bleeding, fading Barboza against the fence and firing until Dean had seen enough. Barboza retired in the Octagon moments later.
UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson backed the call on his YouTube channel.
Shoutout to Herb Dean for stopping the fight,” Johnson said. “I think that was a good stoppage. Herb Dean gets a lot of flak lately for things he’s doing. He has the hardest job in the Octagon, which is making sure he makes the right call, making sure nobody dies. But I love how he stopped the fight with Edson Barboza. I thought that was smart.
Not everyone agreed. Some fans and MMA media argued Dean let the fight go too long once Barboza started absorbing serious damage in the second round.
The praise stands out because Dean has spent much of 2026 on the wrong end of the conversation. He drew heavy criticism for not deducting a point from Ciryl Gane over illegal shots to the back of Alex Pereira’s head at UFC Freedom 250, and he was second-guessed again weeks later during Shara Magomedov’s bout with Michel Pereira at UFC Baku. Dana White addressed the mounting scrutiny in late June, saying any call on Dean’s status as a referee was up to the athletic commission rather than the UFC.
Despite the run of criticism, California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster has continued backing Dean, confirming he’ll referee the UFC 331 main event next month.
