In the main event at UFC 169, Renan Barao defended his bantamweight championship against Urijah Faber.

Dana White: Herb Dean “made a mistake” stopping UFC 169 main event

Once again a controversial main event at a UFC event, however this time it wasn’t the judges. Referee Herb Dean called a stop to the action, after Faber was dropped twice and Barao was throwing punches to a turtled “California Kid.” The uproar wasn’t because Faber was finished, it was in fact the exact opposite — Barao was dropping down bombs, but only hitting Faber’s gloves and he even gave Dean the thumbs up with his right hand.

Following the event, UFC President Dana White took to the post-fight press conference and made it clear that he as well felt like the referee ‘made a mistake.’

“You’ve heard me up here a million times, talk about Herb Dean. I think he is the best referee in the business. He rarely ever makes mistakes, but he made a mistake tonight. Faber was blocking those shots. He gave the thumbs up and the guy is the best in the business as far as I’m concerned. Tonight, he made a mistake.”

Whether Dean saw the thumbs up is unknown.

Check out the highlights from Barao vs. Faber HERE and make the decision for yourself whether it was stopped early.

For more on UFC 169 click HERE.

(Photo by Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)