Dana White on UFC 169 headliner stoppage: Herb Dean made a mistake

NEWARK, N.J. – Count UFC President Dana White among those who think UFC 169's main event between bantamweight champ Renan Barao and Urijah Faber was stopped early by the UFC’s most visible referee.

“You’ve heard me up here a million times talk about Herb Dean – I think he’s the best referee in the business,” White said immediately following the event. “He rarely ever makes mistakes, but he made a mistake tonight.”

The headliner of Saturday’s pay-per-view event capped off a dragging night of fights at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., where 10 of 12 bouts went to decision – a promotional record.

The fight, a rematch from Barao’s UFC 149 win over Faber for the interim bantamweight title, came to an end late in the first round when the Brazilian champ sent Faber wobbling to the canvas with a punch. Faber turtled up to defend himself against an onslaught of hammerfists to the side of his head.

Seeing Faber in danger, Dean reportedly asked the former WEC champ to demonstrate he was still in the fight, and Faber gave a thumbs up. But that signal apparently was obscured by the legs of Barao, one of which Faber had grabbed to possibly drive for a takedown.

Faber (30-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) informed Dean of this immediately after the stoppage, which came at the 3:42 mark of the five-round fight’s first round and gave Barao (32-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) the first defense of his undisputed title after two defenses of an interim belt.

While White lauded Barao’s accomplishments, he said Faber got the short end of the stick.

“Faber was blocking those shots; he gave the thumbs up,” White said. “[Dean] is the best in the business, as far as I’m concerned. Tonight, he made a mistake.”

Dean earned a reputation as White’s favorite referee after countless assignments in headlining fights, some of which appeared far more brutal than the rematch between Barao and Faber.

“They both kind of get screwed tonight,” White said. “Barao gets screwed and Faber gets screwed. It’s the cherry on the 10-decision, record-breaking catastrophe this evening.”

For complete coverage of UFC 169, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.