When Merab Dvalishvili accused referee Herb Dean of affecting his Noche UFC performance against Sean O'Malley

Merab Dvalishvili once alleged that referee Herb Dean was excessively interfering in his bout against Sean O'Malley at Noche UFC (UFC 306). Last September, 'The Machine' dominated O'Malley en route to a lopsided unanimous decision victory to capture the UFC bantamweight title.

While the bout was widely criticized for its lack of action, it still managed to spark controversy. Early in the opening round, Dean issued a firm warning to Dvalishvili after he momentarily turned his attention away from the fight to engage in a verbal exchange with O'Malley’s cornermen.

Dean drew additional criticism for a contentious sequence in the final round, where Dvalishvili was decisively controlling 'Sugar' from a dominant ground position. Despite the Georgian's active offense, the veteran referee repeatedly urged him to "work," signaling a potential stand-up. The sequence sparked backlash, as many felt the warning was unwarranted.

Following the fight, 'The Machine' took to X to express his frustration over Dean’s decision to halt the action, claiming the untimely interruption disrupted his rhythm and had a negative impact on his overall performance:

"Still respect for Herb Dean. I tweeted before about how great a job he did reffing my fight—when he stopped the callouts from O'Malley's team and when he told me to cut the kissing. I finally watched the fight, though, and he definitely affected my fifth round."

He added:

"I had O'Malley's back in a good position and was giving damage with knees. But Herb kept telling me to work. So I switched my position, and he told me again—work. I let go again and lost my dominant position. I was waiting for Sean to work so I could punch his face or grab the submission."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's post below:

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When Merab Dvalishvili explained why he kissed Sean O'Malley on the back at Noche UFC

At the end of the second round in their bout, Merab Dvalishvili secured a front headlock on Sean O'Malley against the cage and planted multiple kisses on his opponent's back before releasing the hold and casually walking away in the closing seconds.

In a post on X last year, 'The Machine' revealed the reason he cheekily kissed O'Malley’s back during their fight:

"When I got O'Malley in the choke... I heard 10 seconds and knew I didn't have enough time for a submission, so I decided to show him who the daddy was of this fight and gave him back a few kisses, LOL. When the ref [referee] touched me, I thought it was break time, so I started walking to my corner... but there were still three seconds - he was just telling me to stop kissing him. LOL!"

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's post below: