The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 155: De Randamie vs. Ladd

#1 Worst: The early stoppage in the main event

Referee Herb Dean may have stopped the main event a tad early

I’m not one to rag on referee performance in MMA; it’s an incredibly difficult job and an incredibly important one too. After all, who wants to be responsible for allowing a fighter to take too much needless damage, and on the other side of the coin, who wants to be responsible for stopping a fight early and robbing a fighter of the chance of a victory?

Last night, Herb Dean unfortunately found himself in the latter situation during the main event.

The fight between Germaine De Randamie and Aspen Ladd was only 15 seconds old when GDR nailed Ladd with an overhand right, dropping her to her knees. It appeared as if she was okay to continue – she took a follow-up shot but lunged for a single leg – when Dean stepped in to stop proceedings. Ladd leapt to her feet instantly and of course, the crowd began to boo loudly in response.

For me, this was an early stoppage, although I guess Dean could’ve been erring on the side of caution after Ladd’s worrying weigh-in – more on that in a second – which would almost have been understandable.

As it is though, GDR didn’t get to finish the fight cleanly and who knows how well Ladd could’ve recovered? It was a disappointing way to end the night for sure.