Ray Longo was not happy with the work of veteran UFC referee Herb Dean on Saturday.
The UFC Fight Night in Shanghai marked a successful event for ex-Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who together with Brian Ortega.
After the defeat of Sterling against Movsar Evloev at the end of last year, his push for two -division Glorie on MMA's largest stage, 'Funk Master' came back on the right track in China.
Weight problems for 'T-City' pushed their original featherweight match to a catch of 153 pounds, but an unbaased sterling still dominated Ortega for five rounds on the way to a crooked unanimous decision.
In the eyes of many, the fight on excitement was missing. That was clearly a sentiment that was shared by the referee, who paused the Co-Main event in round five to give Sterling a warning for inactivity.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Coach Ray Longo Slams Herb Dean for controversial warning for Aljamain Sterling
Many fans responded with both confusion and frustration to the warning of the referee, where some even go so far that Dean is suspended after UFC Shanghai. And it is not only members of the fan base who were stunned by the Dean officer.
After he had booked a vacation before Sterling vs Ortega met, coach Ray Longo was not present in Shanghai to put his husband in the corner.
But that did not stop the famous trainer, and he might have shouted at his TV after he had seen his husband warn of inactivity in the fifth round of a fight that Sterling had largely dominated.
“Terrible phone call,” he wrote on X.
That was not the only post that made Longo's anger clear.
In addition to sharing a number of comments about Dean's work, the renowned coach replied “100 percent” to a position that the veteran officer described as “the absolute worst” for warning for inactivity a week after Khamzat Chimaev's control-heavy UFC 319 performance.
Aljamain Sterling's Title Shot Plea Falls flat
After he had become Ortega in Shanghai, Sterling argued bravely for a shot in the featherweight title of Alexander Volkanovski.
That plea received immediate pushback from many fans, where some claimed that Dana White would 'rather die' than the wish of Grant Sterling.
Among those who laughed from Sterling's claim on a championship fight, the consensus was top candidate on £ 145, Lerone Murphy.
After he had made a shot by Aaron Pico brutally brutally switching on UFC 319 earlier this month, Murphy responded to Sterling's comments with a simple but clear response.
“Lol,” wrote the Englishman on X.