Back to the MMA Newsfeed

Herb Dean explains why he allowed ‘exhausted’ Brian Ortega to continue fighting at UFC 266

UFC 266’s headliner between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega is already touted as one of the best featherweight champion fights in recent history. But there was a moment before the fourth round when “T-City” showed visible signs of struggle.

During the break, Ortega was seen being propped up on the stool, which according to Volkanovski, should’ve been a TKO stoppage already. He also appeared to have compromised his vision, which urged both referee Herb Dean and the ringside doctor to step in.

Ortega was subsequently allowed to continue, which Dean explained in a recent interview with Helen Yee.