Francis Ngannou has defended Herb Dean from criticism over his stoppage in the Stipe Miocic fight, claiming that the veteran referee should have been awarded ‘Performance of the Night’ at UFC 260.
Ngannou KO’d Miocic in the UFC 260 main event to win the heavyweight title and, while some critics argue that Dean could have prevented ‘The Predator’ from hitting Miocic with a follow-up punch while the latter was unconscious, Ngannou maintains that Dean did a fantastic job.
“No, honestly I watched this fight and I saw Herb Dean’s action and I think it should be the performance of the night,” Ngannou told heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson in a recent interview (h/t Derek Hall of Middle Easy).
“Did you see how fast he ran? He was moving backwards, and then after the action you see how fast he moved in? The guy was on notice. He knew that if Francis touch him, don’t let (Francis) touch him again.”
Ngannou also says he didn’t expect to drop Miocic with the left hand and did what he had to do to secure the victory.
“I didn’t feel like I hurt him. I was like ‘Why are you falling?’ Ngannou said. “I (threw the punch) just to counter and he went down and I’m like ‘Okay, what? I don’t know what happened but I have to follow to secure the win.’”
Ngannou, who is now considered ‘the baddest man on the planet’, is expected to defend his heavyweight title against Jon Jones later this year.
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