The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) defends Herb Dean and a NAC doctor following the conclusion of Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan on Saturday, August 1.
Controversy reared its ugly head last weekend at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan after referee Herb Dean and a NAC doctor were blasted by UFC President Dana White for allowing a severely beaten Shahbazyan to continue fighting into the third round.
It appears that the NAC doesn’t agree with White’s assertion that the fight went on too long. Bob Bennett of the NAC issued the following statement during today’s meeting (via Trent Reinsmith of Bloody Elbow):
“Our regulations in NAC 467 state the Referee is the sole arbiter of the contest. Only the Referee can stop the fight in the state of Nevada. Referee Herb Dean in my opinion is one of the best referees in the business. At the end of round two Referee Dean did not stop the fight and allowed the fighter to walk back to his corner. During the one minute rest period you can observe the Ringside Physician and Referee Dean speaking. During the rest period the Ringside Physician and Referee Dean did not interfere with Shahbazyan’s corner attending to their fighter. This is standard procedure as to not interrupt Shahbazyan’s rest period and to allow his corner to attend to him. Upon the one minute rest period ending, Referee Dean called for a time out and requested the Ringside Physician. The Ringside Physician spoke with Shahbazyan to assess his medical condition and then spoke with Referee Dean. From the time out requested by Referee Dean, and the Ringside Physician’s medical assessment of Shahbazyan, the process took approximately 28 seconds. This process is in keeping with the health and safety of the fighter and did not affect the flow the fight. Shortly after the third round, Referee Dean correctly stopped the contest.”
White had claimed the doctor stayed in the Octagon for ten minutes in between rounds two and three, but the doctor was in there for approximately 30 seconds.
