Dustin Poirier confirms Herb Dean hit him with 'People's Elbow' after UFC 291 knockout; Derrick Lewis joins hilarious social media exchange

Herb Dean is one of MMA's longest serving referees, making his first appearance in the UFC octagon as an official in 2004. Dean is without doubt the most accomplished referee in the sport, having won the Referee of the Year award a record eight times at the annual World MMA Awards.

Dean has previously been labeled as the "gold standard" of referees by longtime UFC commetator Joe Rogan. But even he is not immune to the odd slip-up inside the cage, and at UFC 291 last week he accidently hit Dustin Poirier with "The People's Elbow", a move made famous by WWE wrestler The Rock.

Poirier took to Instagram to confirm that he had infact been hit by The Rock's signature move, and UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis also shared his thoughts on the matter.

The esteemed referee's unfortunate moment came after he was trying to stop the fight between 'The Diamond' and Justin Gaethje, who had just landed a head kick that sent Poirier crashing to the canvas.

Watch the video below:

Dustin Poirier said this:

"Herb Dean hit me with the people's elbow"

Derrick Lewis said this:

"Herb Dean fault"

See the comments below:

Screenshot of Poirier and Lewis' comments

---

Dustin Poirier talks about Herb Dean's stoppage at UFC 291

Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje went to battle in the main event of UFC 291 last weekend. 'The Highlight' was crowned the new holder of the BMF title following a second-round head kick knockout over Poirier.

It was the first time 'The Diamond' was KO/TKO'd since his bout with Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 94 in 2016. To add insult to injury, referee Herb Dean helped create a viral moment by dropping the famous "People's Elbow" on Poirier when stopping the fight.

Dustin Poirier appeared on The MMA Hour, hosted by journalist Ariel Helwani, several days after his loss to Justin Gaethje. The pair joked about Dean's unfortunate slip, with 'The Diamond' hilariously claiming that he thought he was being "jumped."

He said this:

"I thought Herb kicked me man, I don't know what happened. I thought I was getting jumped."

Helwani responded with:

"Then he hit you with The People's Elbow"

'The Diamond' then said this:

"Bro, off the top rope though Ariel? Jesus Christ."

Watch the video below from 13:30: