Some fans think that Aljamain Sterling defeated more than just Brian Ortega at UFC Shanghai.
MMA's top promotion was back in China to organize the latest road to UFC Tournament attacks on Friday and a Fight Night event from the Shanghai Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
Headlining was home star Zhang Mingyang, who had hoped to promote his title ambitions against light heavyweight veteran Johnny Walker. Instead, the favorite suffered a brutal loss for his countrymen, while Walker Mingyang finished in round two via TKO.
Although that was the most important event, the highest commitment was made in the co-headliner, while sterling of the top 10 featherweights and Brian Ortega bumped into an important five-rounder that went due to the scary weight problems of Ortega during the Vechtweek.
In the end, it was 'Funkmeester' who had lifted his hand, but, as was the case several times in recent memory, the referee of the fight arose as the most important point of conversation.
Herb Dean under fire for his official from Aljamain Sterling vs Brian Ortega
Herb Dean supervised the decision victory of Sterling on Ortega, which came from three 50-45 score cards that followed a one-sided affair in Shanghai.
The former Bantamweight champion encouraged his claim for a shot in the featherweight title of Alexander Volkanovski in the aftermath, but many fans were not aimed at his performance and instead criticized the third man in the octagon.
Dean has been under fire in recent years for his stop settlements and actions, and two moments have left even more in the MMA community than on August 23.
At a certain moment in the fight, Ortega indicated that he had been punctured. While Dean acknowledged that a fist had caused the problem, he still stopped the fight and allowed the time to recover.
Then, in the final round, the veteran official paused the fight to warn Sterling about his inactivity – a movement that was not often seen in the UFC and one that suggested that 'Funk Master' was against both Ortega and Dean at UFC Shanghai.
“Herb Dean has been bad lately. It is time to promote some of these other officials.”
“Fire Herb Dean.”
“Research Herb Dean.”
“Herb Dean confirmed Ortega Fan.”
“Aljamain Sterling won even though he had to fight both Brian Ortega and Herb Dean tonight.”
“Herb Dean who gave Aljo a warning for running was so unnecessary.”
“They must enforce standardized referee. Herb Dean is a premium aljo and merab hater and will immediately try to f-.”
“Herbden Herb Dean for telling Aljo to fight at the end.”
Herb is suspended because he told Aljo to fight at the end
– Chlorideefrog (@chlorideefrog) August 23, 2025
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Herb Dean also said that Merab Dvalishvili was more active in his first Sean O'Malley fight
Deans referee in China led to allegations of bias against teammates Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili, especially after a similar incident in which the latter was involved in 2024.
During the victory of Dvalishvili over Sean O'Malley at UFC 306, Dean also gave warnings and the Georgian told to tackle his action in the Achthoek.
In recent years, the American officer has worked under one championship banner, where yellow cards are handed out to hunters who do not deal with their opponent.
Based on his warning for Sterling on Saturday morning, Dean probably wishes him to have tickets in his back pocket to separate.