Rafael dos Anjos got his preferred referee for his upcoming lightweight title defence against Conor McGregor.
MMA scribe Ariel Helwani broke the news that both the lightweight champion and his manager Ali Abdel-Aziz both requested that Herb Dean referee to officiate UFC 196’s main event. The duo seemingly got their wish as it was announced on Wednesday that the dreadlocked ref was given the task of reffing one of the most anticipated fights of the year.
Dean was the man in the middle for RDA’s last trip to the Octagon, his first defence as champion against Donald Cerrone. On that occasion, RDA took just 66 seconds to finish the fight, with Dean calling it to a halt after the Brazilian dropped his opponent to the canvas, peppered him with ground and pound and gave that cheeky look up to the referee to suggest that it was all over.
The speculation over why RDA campaigned to have Dean as the referee has already begun. Some suggest that his tendency to let fights play out on the ground as opposed to standing them up may be the reason why, which was evident in the second round of the McGregor v Mendes, where the American dominated from the top position.
However, McGregor managed to get back to his feet and knock Money out on that occasion, lest we forget.
