MMA referee Jason Herzog responds to criticism of his point deduction in the UFC 256 main event

MMA referee Jason Herzog responded to the criticism of his decision to make a point deduction in the main event fight of UFC 256. Herzog took to Twitter and defended his decision of deducting UFC Flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo one point in round three of the fight.

Responding to a Twitter user who criticized his decision, the referee insinuated that the fan had bet money on the fight and lost. Jason Herzog stated –

“Be honest...how much did you lose?”

Be honest...how much did you lose? https://t.co/AXMll9ccBl

— Jason Herzog (@JasonHerzogMMA) December 13, 2020

The UFC 256 main event matchup was one of the best fights of 2020

The UFC Flyweight title fight between reigning champion Deiveson Figueiredo and challenger Brandon Moreno was one for the ages.

The two flyweight competitors had last competed at UFC 255 (November 21st) winning their respective fights in impressive fashion, and made an extremely quick turnaround in about three weeks to fight at UFC 256 (December 12th).

Deiveson Figueiredo put his Flyweight title on the line against Brandon Moreno in the main event of UFC 256, and performed brilliantly throughout the fight.

Moreno too, on his part, put on an outstanding performance. The challenger went toe to toe with Figueiredo throughout the fight and pushed the champion to his limit.

Needless to say, the bout ended up being a very difficult one to score. Most of the fans believed that Figueiredo had won at least three out of five rounds.

WHAT A FIGHT! WE ARE NOT WORTHY 🏆 #UFC256 pic.twitter.com/2HRN9eBhtz

— UFC (@ufc) December 13, 2020

Jason Herzog played an important role in the UFC 256 headlining fight

One of the most important things that transpired during the five-round war between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno was the point deduction by referee Jason Herzog in the third round.

Figueiredo had landed an eye poke earlier in the fight, which was ruled accidental. However, when the champion landed a groin strike on Brandon Moreno in the third round, referee Jason Herzog decided to deduct a point from the God Of War.

This would turn out to be crucial as the fight ended up being declared as a majority draw. One judge scored the fight 48-46 in favor of Deiveson Figueiredo, whereas the other two scored the fight as a draw with 47-47 scorecards respectively.

The judge's scorecards took the point deduction made by Jason Herzog into consideration, which is why the fight ended up being declared a majority draw.

If it weren’t for the point deduction that the referee made, the result would’ve been an unanimous decision victory in favor of Deiveson Figueiredo.

Presently, the consensus in the MMA community is that UFC Flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo will once again put his title on the line against Brandon Moreno, with their rematch likely to take place in 2021.