Referee Herb Dean shares his thoughts on Aljamain Sterling’s DQ win over Petr Yan

UFC referee Herb Dean has given his thoughts on the controversial ending to Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling back at UFC 259.

In their UFC Bantamweight Championship clash, it appeared as if Yan was well on his way to successfully retaining his title. However, after he threw an illegal knee at a downed opponent, Sterling was able to leave the UFC APEX as champion through a disqualification victory.

Many fans and media members have had their say on what went down and during a recent interview with Helen Yee, veteran ref Herb Dean also gave his thoughts on the bizarre situation.

Always great catching up with @herbdeanmma . He gives his thoughts on Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling DQ. Also talked Usman vs Masvidal, Weidman vs Hall, Francis Ngannou, referee certification courses, AirBnb, craziest Cameo request&more. Interview here -> https://t.co/oQiaMmJGOf pic.twitter.com/tFWjA3O579

— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) May 4, 2021

“The way the rules are written, there’s part of it that’s an interpretation of the official, but there are some things in the rules where there’s a must, and you have to. I think we need more options and more tools because every situation is far from black and white. Every time you’re in there, you’re getting a different touch or a different spin on a situation,” Dean said.

“It’s hard to make these rules that are cookie-cutter things and expect all these situations to fit inside them. So, I think we’re looking at some of those rules and setting them up so that the referee can have more choices. I just think it was an unfortunate way for a championship fight to end [Yan vs Sterling].”

The majority of fans believe an immediate rematch is in order given how things ended but due to Sterling’s recent surgery, it appears as if we’ll have to wait for them to run it back.

In the meantime, it’ll be interesting to see if Dean and the other referees in the UFC get what they’re asking for.

What do you think about Herb Dean’s analysis of what happened and the future of refereeing? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!