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Ben Askren's much-anticipated UFC debut against Robbie Lawler at T-Mobile Arena ended in a technical submission win for the Olympian and former NCAA champion. Veteran referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at the 3:20 mark of the first round after concluding that Lawler was unconscious. However, it became clear after the stoppage that Lawler was not out of his wits from the bulldog choke put on him by Askren.
The in-cage microphone caught Robbie Lawler expressing his displeasure at Herb Dean's decision and the referee defending himself. Below is the transcript from the video that UFC released, titled UFC 235: The Thrill and the Agony:
Lawler: "What the f*** are you doing!"
Dean: "I thought you..." [gestures limp hand]
Lawler: "I didn’t. What the f***?"
However, Robbie Lawler was quick to forgive Herb Dean in a great show of sporting spirit. 'Ruthless' accepted the lapse of judgment as a human error that can happen to anyone.
Dean: [Beeped out]
Lawler: "I know. It's alright."
The two settled the matter then and there with an embrace.
Listen to the exchange below between the 0:30 and 0:50 mark:
Robbie Lawler was a gentleman about the situation and gave a shoutout to Herb Dean at the post-fight press conference as well.
"Herb checked on me and when he checked on me, I gave him the thumbs up. I couldn't hear him talking because of how the choke was on. My head was on his body on the side and his arm was over here, so I couldn't hear him talking. And I'm not gonna just dangle the hand, so I put it down, and when he checked, I gave him a thumbs up... It happens. He's a hell of a ref," Robbie Lawler said in the post-fight press conference.
Herb Dean defended the Robbie Lawler vs. Ben Askren stoppage on Joe Rogan's podcast
Herb Dean took a lot of heat following the fight for his decision, including that of some MMA fighters. The referee defended himself on episode #61 of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Joe Rogan was present cageside during the fight as a UFC desk analyst. Dean said:
"A bulldog choke - anytime you have a choke where there’s pressure on the neck and they’re bending the c-spine (cervical spine) backwards like that, that’s a rough situation for me. So I see someone go limp and I know that on top of it they’re no longer putting tension on their neck, and their neck is just being bent, I can’t see that I should do something different than that... With that same situation with the arm going limp with that type of a choke on someone, I would think the arm should be doing something else. At this time, I don’t think that I should do something different."
Here is the full statement that Herb Dean made on the podcast:
The Nevada State Athletic Commission also made its stance clear on the matter. In a statement to MMA Junkie, NSAC executive director Bob Bennett said the commission had no problem with the decision.
