What’s the story?
Ronda Rousey became an instant star in UFC by finishing her opponents in one-sided matches. When Rousey faced Nunes at UFC 207, all her fans expected to see a similar result. What Amanda “The Lioness” Nunes did instead, could not have been predicted by many. Nunes rocked Rousey with several hard punches from which the latter could not recover.
Rousey was not knocked down but she struggled to defend herself from the onslaught.
The match referee, Herb Dean, had to step in and stop the madness in 48 seconds. In the wake of this defeat, speculations began to fly, with many commenting that the fight was stopped prematurely by Herb Dean, who spoke out regarding the matter to TMZ Sports recently.
In case you didn’t know...
This was the fastest knockout finish of the champion Amanda Nunes’ (14-4-0) career. She has 11 first round finishes ten of which have come via KO. She has matched Ronda Rousey’s (12-2-0) record of 11 first round finishes.
In the 48-second fight between them, Nunes landed 23 punches which left Rousey staggering, while Rousey could reply with only four.
Herb Dean is the most active and respected official in MMA and is widely considered to be the best in business. Apart from UFC, Dean has officiated matches worldwide for WEC, K-1 Hero’s, KOTC among many others.
Herb Dean has won the Referee of the Year award at World MMA Awards in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.
The heart of the matter
The early stoppage of the Nunes-Rousey fight has raised many questions and opinions. In a recent episode of ‘Undisputed – with Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe’, actor and MMA fan Michael Rapaport went too far and said that the fight was stopped too soon due to Rousey’s “White Girl Privilege”.
While speaking to TMZ Sports, the veteran referee Herb Dean shared his views about why he stopped the fight as he did,
There are a lot of people who have an opinion about things but have no idea about the criteria that we officials use when we are going to stop a fight. I’ll tell you why I stopped the fight. I stopped the fight because, it was my main job, my primary duty as a referee is to prevent fighters from taking unnecessary injuries once the fight has been determined to no longer be competitive.
He credited Nunes for the impressive victory and had something to say about her,
Amanda hits harder than any girl that I have seen in that division, by far. And she hits very hard. That’s something she has going for her. We can’t discredit Amanda and just keep talking about Ronda.
What’s next?
After knocking out Ronda Rousey in 48 seconds, the next step for the champion Amanda Nunes is to defend her title against the winner of the bout between Julianna Pena and Valentina Shevchenko.
As for Rousey, it is still uncertain whether she will continue with UFC. If Rousey decides to leave UFC, she can possibly go to WWE or venture into Hollywood.
Sportskeeda’s take
Raising the winner’s hand is not the referee’s only duty. He has to provide a steady and safe environment for the fighters to showcase their talents. Any and all injuries shorten a fighter’s career. The referee is also responsible for judging when a fighter could get seriously injured and stop the fight to safeguard their health.
In my opinion, it was a good stoppage, allowing it to continue any further would have threatened Rousey’s health. All credit goes to “The Lioness” for the stomping victory. She has strengthened her position as the most dangerous fighter in the Bantamweight division and has bigger and better things coming her way.
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