VIDEO | Referee Herb Dean on ‘white girl privilege’ stoppage of Ronda Rousey

By Russell Ess - January 5, 2017

Amanda Nunes Herb Dean Ronda Rousey 207

Herb Dean was the referee for the UFC 207 main event championship fight between Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey.

Dean called an end to the fight at 48-seconds of the very first round after Rousey was battered on her feet from the hard-hitting champion Nunes.

Interestingly, actor Michael Rapaport commented on the stoppage on a recent episode of ‘Undisputed: With Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe’ stating that he felt the stoppage came too soon.

glendale fighting club ronda rousey

“I think they stopped the fight too soon, and in my opinion that was white girl privilege working at its finest,” Rapaport said stating that other fighters have been given more time to fight back or recover.

TMZ Sports caught up with referee Herb Dean and was asked for his thoughts on Rapaport’s comment.

Dean was not exactly sure who Rapaport was and questioned if he had any fighting or referee experience and simply laughed when he was told “no, he’s an actor.”

“There are a lot of people who have opinions about things but have no idea of the criteria that we officials use when we’re going to stop a fight.

“I’ll tell you why I stopped the fight. I stopped the fight because it was, my main job, my primary duty as a referee is to prevent fighters from taking unnecessary injuries once the fight has been determined to no longer be competitive.”

Dean was then asked what he felt was different for Rousey this time competing in the Octagon.

Dean mentioned that there are many factors in a fight but went on to state that everyone can’t discredit Nunes for the outcome of the bout and only focus on what may have played a factor in Rousey’s performance.

Amanda Nunes

“Amanda hits harder than any girl that I’ve seen in that division, by far. And she hits very hard. That’s something she has going for her. Some of the other girls have something going for them but that’s something that can’t be ignored and we have to talk about how hard she hits, how long her punches are, and the fact that she’s gotten better with every fight for her last few fights, probably four of five fights. People have seen her getting better and it’s no surprise that she is where she is at right now.”