Fedor vs. Henderson Results: Herb Dean Defends His Stoppage of Fight

Since the second after Dan Henderson knocked out Fedor Emelianenko on Saturday night in their Strikeforce matchup, referee Herb Dean has been the talk of the town.

Dean's call to stop the contest has raised many eyebrows. Was the fight stopped too early, or was the call perfect?

On Monday's edition of the MMA Hour, Dean defended his stoppage of the fight.

"I saw Dan hit Fedor with a shot, Fedor fell down flat on his face, face down, his palms were facing up and I saw Dan continuing to punch," Dean said. "He hit him with, I believe, three punches, and I didn't see Fedor doing any movement. It seemed to me he was unconscious. I came in to stop the fight." 

According to Dean, the stoppage happened when he saw Fedor face first on the mat.

"When I made my decision to stop the fight, Fedor was face down, unconscious," Dean said. "When I touched Dan, Fedor was still face down. Once I touch him, the fight is over."

Another thing some fans criticised was whether or not Henderson's punches were to the back of Fedor's head, which would lead to a foul.

Dean found nothing wrong with that no-call as well.

"I saw punches that may have been close," Dean said. "But I wouldn't have called those fouls because the way the action was moving, I couldn't say that he intentionally targeted that area."

In the end Dean's decision helped save Fedor from more damage, and he's comfortable with that.

"Fedor was unconscious and unable to defend himself," Dean said.

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