Renowned MMA referee Herb Dean has opened up about the new wave of stricter officiating guidelines following the controversial eye-poke incident between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.
Aspinall’s first undisputed heavyweight title defense ended in disaster after he was accidentally poked in both eyes by Gane during the opening round. Despite taking the full five-minute recovery period, Aspinall was ruled unable to continue due to loss of vision in his right eye. The bout was declared a no-contest, leaving fans, fighters, and analysts demanding reforms.
In the aftermath, eye pokes have once again become a heated topic in the MMA community. Speaking on the Believe You Me podcast, Herb Dean revealed that top officials recently met to review enforcement policies and push for tighter regulation of fouls inside the Octagon.
“We made a rule that it’s a foul to extend the fingers toward the eyes,” Dean explained. “That rule’s always been there, but we haven’t been enforcing it as much as we should. So we’re going to move forward on that.”
Dean acknowledged that stricter penalties might lead to more point deductions, a move that could change fight outcomes, given MMA’s close scoring margins.
“MMA is a one-point sport,” he said. “Most three-round fights end 29-28. So if you take one point, you’ve just turned a majority of wins into draws. But we’re going to have to do something, that’s something that’s going to happen.”
Dean emphasised that referees must start acting before dangerous fouls cause harm, not after.
“Eye pokes are a dangerous foul,” he continued. “If a fighter keeps doing something dangerous, we should start taking points before it actually hurts somebody.”
He also noted the need for clearer definitions and guidelines to determine what exactly constitutes a foul, especially in cases like Aspinall vs. Gane, where intent and hand position can be hard to judge.
“That last foul, I think the fingers were up. So we can agree the fingers were up. We might have to change that,” Dean said. “A lot of times when fighters are pawing or measuring distance, their fingers start to extend without realizing it.”
Dean even pointed to Sean Strickland as an example of how fighters can maintain discipline and avoid fouls while still being effective.
“When Sean Strickland fights, he comes out with his fingers closed and he’s parrying everywhere,” Dean said. “He might have that bad-boy image, but when it comes to hand positioning, he’s one of the best. I don’t have to worry about his fingers.”
With UFC officials reportedly aligned on stricter enforcement, Herb Dean believes the sport is moving toward greater accountability and fighter safety. He will be officiating multiple bouts at UFC 322, including the main event between Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev, where the new guidelines could already be in effect.
As the conversation around fighter safety continues to grow, Dean’s call for proactive officiating might mark a turning point in how referees handle fouls, and how fighters adapt.
