Herb
Dean believes he made the right call in the fight between
Phumi
Nkuta and Adriano
Moraes.
Dean was the third man in the cage when Nkuta and Moraes clashed in
a bantamweight tilt at
Most Valuable Promotions „Rousey vs. Carano“ last weekend in
Los Angeles, California. While it was a competitive fight, Nkuta
was apparently edging past Moraes in the final round.
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However, Moraes caught Nkuta in a guillotine with 10 seconds left
in the fight. While Nkuta tried to survive till the bell, Moraes
held on to the choke for a few moments after the final bell despite
Dean’s intervention. As Nkuta was choked unconscious, Dean took a
long look at the replay before declaring it a submission win for
Moraes.
The controversial ending faced massive backlash from fans and
pundits alike. However, Dean recently defended his call of a
submission win for Moraes. Dean explains that he is usually focused
on a fighter’s limbs when they are caught in a choke, where they
can pass out. However, Dean briefly shifted his focus to Moraes’
hands before the final bell to figure out how to pull him away
immediately after the bell. Since his focus was diverted in the
final seconds, Dean decided to take a long look at the replay.
According to Dean’s judgment based on the replay, Nkuta was
unconscious just a fraction of a second before the final bell,
which made him declare it a win for Moraes.
Defending His Call
“I want to see the body because the hands and often the legs
are what’s gonna give you your clue that someone’s out,” Dean said.
“Whereas looking at their face won’t. As it’s time for me to stop
the fight, I’m looking at [Moraes’] hands because I’m trying to
figure out which grips he has and what I might have to fight if
he’s not letting go instantly. So that’s where my focus kind of
shifted towards the hands… I went out to look at the replay. And it
definitely showed that he went unconscious before the bell, right a
fraction of a second before the bell.”
Herb Dean talks
Adriano
Moraes/Phumi
Nkuta. Breaks down what he was thinking during the finishing
sequence.#HelwaniShow
pic.twitter.com/EalrwAfsng— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman)
May 18, 2026