Demetrious Johnson understands why Herb Dean kept breaking up clinch fight with Adriano Moraes

Demetrious Johnson believes tenured mixed martial arts referee Herb Dean did a good job officiating his ONE Fight Night 10 headliner with Adriano Moraes despite the frequent breaks up against the fence.

‘Mighty Mouse’ successfully defended his ONE flyweight world championship for the first time, scoring a unanimous decision victory over the same man he took the world title from, Adriano Moraes, to close out their iconic trilogy.

After splitting their first two meetings with highlight-reel-worthy knockouts, their third meeting in the ‘Mile High City’ was a grueling 25-minute affair that saw the two fighters continuously work in the clinch.

Jockeying for position against the fence, referee Herb Dean broke up and reset the fighters on more than one occasion. Sharing his thoughts on Dean’s performance, Johnson said:

“I understand that there’s parts of the time in the fight where he’s trying to push the action and I am too. But he did a good job,” Johnson told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “I have to go back and watch it to look at that specific part of him why he kept breaking us up.”

Watch the full interview below:

After coming up short in what could very well be his last ONE world title opportunity, Adriano Moraes will go back to the drawing board.

As for Demetrious Johnson, the pound-for-pound GOAT is currently debating what comes next; a second ONE world title defense or retirement. ‘Mighty Mouse’ certainly sees the appeal in hanging up his gloves and spending the rest of his days with his wife and kids, but the competitor in him has the desire to keep moving forward in the sport. Hopefully, fans won’t have to wait too long to find out what’s next for the flyweight great.

If you missed any of the action, or just want to relive one of the most epic nights in ONE Championship history, the ONE Fight Night 10 replay can be watched live via Amazon Prime Video in North America.