Wasting NO time, @Pezao011
[
gets it done in under 1 minute
#UFCVegas42 | Main Card Live NOW on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/a3W6Nb5C9S— UFC (@ufc)
November 13, 2021
There was no question that Marcos
Rogerio de Lima had Ben Rothwell
reeling prior to the bout’s stoppage during their co-main event
clash at
UFC Fight Night 197 on Saturday.
However, referee Herb Dean
created some confusion when he appeared to step in and halt the
heavyweight bout before backing off as de Lima battered his foe
with power punches. After the veteran official’s near intervention,
Rothwell dropped for a desperation takedown, only to pull de Lima
on top of him. De Lima turned to Dean while in top position to
indicate he was no longer attacking, and at that point, Dean
officially called off the fight.
The manner in which the stoppage occurred drew some criticism from
UFC president Dana White at the post-fight press conference.
“Herb needs to stop touching guys unless the fight’s over,” White
said. “He goes in and grabs him (de Lima) by the waist and decides,
‘Oops’.. The good thing about this one was, that fight should’ve
been stopped when he stopped it. You didn’t see Ben jumping up and
arguing about it. That fight should’ve been stopped.”
Dean’s initial instinct to step in occurred when de Lima buckled
Rothwell with a punch, causing the Wisconsin native’s leg to nearly
fold beneath him. However, Rothwell was held up by the fence
directly behind him, and shortly thereafter he shot for the
defensive takedown. Regardless, Rothwell was badly hurt and
absorbing a lot of damage.
White would have preferred that Dean make a more decisive call in
that moment.
“When they played it back in slow motion, he’s kind of like
dancing, like he doesn’t know what to do, whether he’s gonna jump
in or not jump in,” White said. “I like him personally, he’s a nice
guy. He’s got to stop touching people until he’s ready to stop the
fight.”