An MMA referee is being criticized for letting a fighter take unnecessary punches to the head, after suffering a nasty knockdown
- Francisco Trinaldo knocked Jai Herbert down with a counter left hand over the top in the third round of their "Fight Island" bout Sunday.
- With Herbert dazed and confused on the canvas, Trinaldo seemed hesitant to unload with punches from the top.
- But as the referee Herb Dean did not stop the fight, Trinaldo thumped Herbert four more times until Dean eventually stepped in.
- "That pisses me off," one UFC on ESPN commentator fumed.
FIGHT ISLAND — An MMA referee is being criticized for letting a fighter take unnecessary punches to the head, after already suffering a nasty knockdown.
It all went down during a 160-pound catchweight fight between Francisco Trinaldo and Jai Herbert on the preliminary card of the "UFC on ESPN 14" show — the fourth and final event in the UFC's "Fight Island" series on a quarantined area of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
After a strong second round, one in which Jerbert out-threw and out-landed Trinaldo by a ratio of 2:1, Trinaldo rebounded in style in the third when he scored a knockdown so brutal it should have ended the bout.
A counter left hand over the top landed on Jerbert's head and disoriented him, knocking him a half step back before falling flat on the floor.
With his opponent dazed and confused on canvas, Trinaldo seemed hesitant to unload but because the referee Herb Dean did not say stop, he smacked him four times.
As Trinaldo wound up for a fifth punch from the top, Dean finally called it.
Watch the finish here:
Or here if you're in a different region:
The finish was not without controversy
Speaking during the ESPN broadcast, the UFC commentator Dan Hardy was incensed at Dean's apparent failure to stop the bout sooner.
"That fight was over," Hardy said. "That's terrible."
The co-commentator Paul Felder said: "That pisses me off. You know, that's not normally Herb. Herb is usually a fine referee.
"He's a young guy making his debut, and Trinaldo rocks him. He falls back the way he falls back like a board. He was out."
With the win, Trinaldo advanced his record to 26 wins (nine knockouts, five submissions, and 12 decisions) against seven losses.
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