Herb Dean Going To Let Trash Talking Go During UFC 196

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Herb Dean said that even though abusive language is technically a foul during UFC fights, he’s going to let it slide when he officiates the fight between featherweight champion Conor McGregor (19-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and Nate Diaz (18-10 MMA, 13-8 UFC) at UFC 196 tonight. Here are highlights:

On letting the trash talk happen: “I generally choose to let people talk trash I think it’s fine. But actually, there is a rule. There is a rule that says no abusive language in the cage. So yeah, that leaves a lot to my discretion. If somebody … says ‘(expletive) you’ to somebody, people will get offended by it. I mean, we’re watching people kick each other in the face, but we can’t say ‘(expletive) you’ every now and then?”

On the one time he wished he enforced the rule: “One time that crossed a line with me was I refereed a fight, and the guy had a guy in a position to ground and pound, and like the whole time, he was saying, ‘Show me your face, bitch. Yeah, bitch. You like that? Don’t you hide from me’. And it was abusive. It made me feel uncomfortable. It was like a weapon. I felt like, man, this guy is going to need therapy after this. And I forgot about the rule. I didn’t really enforce the rule. But if I think if I were to do it again, I would I’ve enforced that. I wouldn’t have let him talk to him like that.”