Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw Say MMA Referees Should Face the Same Boos as Fighters

Neither of the former champions believes that the referees should be spared from public backlash.

Herb Dean has been facing criticism since June at UFC Freedom 250, where he refereed Ciryl Gane’s interim heavyweight title win over Alex Pereira. After dropping Pereira, Gane landed several blows that "Poatan" claimed hit the back of his head. However, Dean let the fight continue, handing Gane a second-round TKO win.
 
Pereira publicly lambasted Dean afterwards, and the veteran referee has been booed at several UFC events since then. Cruz and Dillashaw have discussed the backlash on the latest episode of Cruz’s podcast, 'Love & War with Dominick Cruz'.

T.J. Dillashaw Changes Tune on Herb Dean

Dillashaw first came to Dean’s defence. He said it was “crazy” to watch a whole arena boo the referee and admitted he felt bad for him. But Cruz felt differently. Fighters face backlash whenever fans don’t like what they see, be it a loss or a bad performance, and Cruz believes referees should be treated no differently. He said:

“I don’t feel bad for Herb Dean, and I’ll tell you why: because we get booed all the time, and we’re the ones getting our a---s kicked."

Dillashaw, who was often criticised by MMA fans during his career, came around to the idea that anyone who steps into the octagon should be ready for the same heat.

“Yeah, I’ve had some ‘F--k you, TJ’ chants when I fight... If you’re going to be in the octagon with us, you get to feel the s--t too.”

Dominick Cruz Says Refs Have Final Authority

For “The Dominator,” it comes down to power. He feels that a referee can stop a fight at any moment, and that one decision can change who wins and loses and also how much a fighter gets paid. Because the referees have that much control over the result, Cruz believes they should face the same pressure as the fighters.

“Do you think the referee has more power over the fight and who wins and loses or us?... They can stop the fight whenever they want. So why shouldn’t they be booed?”

Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw Know What a Referee’s Call Can Cost

Both ex-fighters spoke from their own experience. Dillashaw’s first professional loss came at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale in 2011, when the referee stopped his fight with John Dodson at 1:54 of the first round. The Former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion admitted he was mad at Dean for years for stopping that fight, as he felt he was ready to keep going.

“The Dominator” also lost a title fight against Henry Cejudo at UFC 249 in 2020 to a stoppage he also felt came too early.

For the 41-year-old, an early stoppage is about money as much as it is about pride. UFC fighters earn a win bonus equal to their event money, and so a loss cuts their paycheck in half. Cruz's anger toward the referee was because the referee “took half my money” by stopping the fight.

The two also pointed to Dean’s most recent controversy. At UFC 332 on Oct. 3, the referee stopped King Green’s fight with Esteban Ribovics after Green was knocked down three times in the first round. Dillashaw felt that fight should have gone on a bit little longer. 

Cruz made it known that he doesn't think all referees are bad, calling Marc Goddard “one of the best refs,” as Goddard let him recover after being dropped by Pedro Munhoz.