Holly Holm vs Ronda Rousey News: Referee Herb Dean noticed Rousey may not have been in best physical shape during Holm fight
Veteran mixed martial arts referee Herb Dean had some interesting observations while he was officiating the UFC 193 main event title fight between female bantamweights Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm.
Holm went on to pull off a shocker when she defeated Rousey via second round knockout, earning her the much-coveted title. But according to Dean, Rousey might not be at her 100% shape during the Holm fight.
In an interview with FOX Sports, he laid out some of his observations during the actual bout.
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"I think I might have seen her in better physical shape. That's something I noticed. The people are looking for answers but it's not always on one side. It's not something like track where you're running against your time," Dean explained.
The long-time MMA in-fight official, who is also considered by many as one of the best in the business, also pointed out how Rousey was simply unable to do enough against Holm, who had the clear advantage on the feet.
"There's a lot of things Holly did that perhaps she wasn't used to feeling," Dean added. "Holly did a lot of things right. She was using her footwork. She was using her mirror stance."
"When someone's a southpaw and the other is orthodox the strikes usually land a lot harder because there's a lot of space," he continued. "That's another thing I noticed. I have to give Ronda a lot of credit — even though the things she was doing weren't working well — she kept at it."
During the weigh-ins a day prior to the fight, Rousey and Holm almost came to blows during the face-off. The apparent animosity, which did not exist during the fight build up, weeks prior, spilled over during the actual bout, when Rousey refused to touch gloves with Holm before the opening bell.
Many believed that Rousey's refusal to show that sign of courtesy might have led to her downfall, but for Dean, it was something he would rather not put meaning to.
"Usually when I think a fighter's not going to touch gloves I say 'you can touch gloves at this time if you wish'," he said. "I didn't say that (and) she didn't touch gloves — I wasn't surprised that she didn't. I don't really make a judgment about that. I'm not a judgmental person and even less so in this sport."
"This is a sport only less than a fraction of people can do," he continued. "Whatever you have to do to get your mind wrapped around to do what you have to do — more power to you."
