“It’s the home for martial arts in general” - Herb Dean appreciates the variety of disciplines showcased in ONE Championship

Decorated mixed martial arts referee Herb Dean hasn’t been with ONE Championship for long, but he’s already loving the experience so far.

The 52-year-old has seen pretty much seen everything throughout his illustrious career. He's refereed for some of the biggest MMA promotions, particularly in North America and Europe.

Dean is admittedly fond of ONE FC for its diversified focus on several combat sports disciplines. While he only calls MMA bouts under the ONE banner, the American referee is a welcome spectator of all the fights that ONE hosts inside the Circle.

Dean, after all, is an avid martial artist himself and practices grappling even to this day.

In an interview posted on The MMA Super-Fan Youtube page, Dean discussed what sets the Singapore-based promotion apart. He explained:

“What I really like a lot is the fact that it’s the home for martial arts in general. So I get to see top-level Muay Thai, top-level kickboxing, and it’s high-level guys, the best of the best, which is not something I’m always going to get to see at a show. So I really like that format.”

Watch Herb Dean’s full interview below:

Herb Dean, of course, is one of the most respected officials in the hurt business. Some pundits claim he’s right up there among the best MMA referees of all time. In fact, he won Fighters Only Magazine’s World MMA Awards Referee of the Year ten times.

A former professional MMA fighter himself, Dean has always looked out for fighter’s safety and has made a lot of amazing mid-fight decisions over the years. He flew to Singapore earlier this year to join ONE’s esteemed group of referees, and has already called several events for the promotion. Herb Dean was even the third man inside the Circle during Xiong Jing Nan and Angela Lee’s epic trilogy bout at ONE on Prime Video 2 last month.

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Herb Dean lauds ONE Championship for its top-notch talent

Herb Dean had the best seat in the house when Xiong Jing Nan defended her ONE women’s strawweight world title against Angela Lee in five rounds of non-stop action.

His wealth of experience came in handy in the first round, as he made the right call not to stop the fight when ‘The Panda’ bludgeoned Lee, who was still intelligently defending herself.

After the bout, Herb Dean praised both fighters and said it was an honor to referee two unrelenting warriors who gave it their all.

He shared in the same interview:

“The Xiong versus Lee fight was great. It went all five rounds, the ability to stay focused and keep a game plan after weathering the storm was great. But nothing surprised me. I came here expecting to see high-level top-notch talent, that’s what I’ve seen from ONE so far.”