Can we go back to the end of round 3?! #WhatHadHappenedWas https://t.co/VqquhAt4Gn
— #UFCLondon (@ufc) February 27, 2016
Referee Herb Dean shared this Monday his views on the most controversial moment of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night London.
In the main event, Anderson Silva hit Michael Bisping with a flying knee to the head at the very last second of the third round.
As Bisping fell to the ground, Silva considered the fight done and went on to celebrate on top of the octagon fence.
Ref Herb Dean, however, saw it different and did not call the knock out, making sure to tell Anderson and his corner that the fight was not over.
Here’s what he said about his decision during an interview with The MMA Hour: “Well, Silva hit him with the knee and dropped him, and then he walked off and started to celebrate. Bisping had been dropped, but you know, in MMA we don’t stop the match just because someone gets dropped. I saw that when he fell he was not unconscious. He was facing Anderson. Anderson didn’t give him a threat to protect himself from, but — I don’t want to start playing what if, what if he attacked and whatnot — the bottom line is he didn’t attack. The round ended and, because Anderson was celebrating, there was some confusion as to what was going on. But I never had any confusion. I knew that I hadn’t stopped the match and that the match was going to continue.”
Click here to read more excerpts from the interview on MMA Fighting.
After the fight resumed, Bisping went on to win via unanimous decision.
The post Silva vs. Bisping: Herb Dean explains why he didn’t stop the fight at the end of the 3rd first appeared on Graciemag.