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Dana White Addresses Dan Hardy and Herb Dean Incident, Warns That Anyone Who Approaches or Touches an Official Will be Fired

August 1, 2020 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris

As previously reported, UFC analyst and former fighter Dan Hardy was highly critical of referee Herb Dean’s officiating at UFC on ESPN 14 event earlier this week. Footage later surfaced showing Hardy approaching and arguing with Dean over the stoppage for the Francisco Trinaldo vs. Jai Herbert fight at the event. UFC President Dana White addressed the incident in a media scrum with reporters earlier this week ahead of UFC on ESPN+ 31: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan.

White issued a warning to Hardy and anyone, including fighters, who approach or get physical with event referees or officials, and said that they will be fired on the spot and never allowed back in the UFC again for the offense. Below are some highlights and footage of White addressing the topic at the scrum:

Dana White on the Herb Dean/Dan Hardy incident: “Let me say this to you guys. I’m glad you asked me that question. Something went down last night in Abu Dhabi too where [Marc] Goddard got pushed. I want to make this very clear. If you work for me, and you approach a judge or a referee or any type of official, I will fire you. You will lose your job. You will never work for me again if you do that. Nobody has the right — Listen. You want to criticize judges? You want to criticize referees? You didn’t agree with a decision or things like that? We love Dan. Dan got emotional — and the problem is now, with this setup, it’s a lot easier to do, OK. It’s a lot easier to interact with everybody, from the fighters, to the refs, to the media, and everybody. If you work for me at any capacity, and you approach a referee or judge or an official, I will fire you that night on the spot. That can never happen here ever again.”

White on if he’s spoken to Hardy about what happened: “I’m speaking to him right now. I’m speaking to everybody. Don’t ever do it ever again. And if you’re a fighter, and you put your hands on or you know threaten any official, you will never, ever fight here again. Period.”

UFC returns to action later tonight at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. The prelims and main card will be streamed live on ESPN+ later tonight.

article topics :

Dan Hardy, Dana White, Jeffrey Harris