John McCarthy explains how Herb Dean may have saved the Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega fight from being stopped early

The UFC 266 headliner saw Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega go toe-to-toe in an all-out war. While both fighters exhibited a tremendous amount of heart, referee Herb Dean also put on a masterclass, according to 'Big' John McCarthy.

Both Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega found themselves on the receiving end of a tsunami of shots. However, it was Brian Ortega who exhibited more signs of physical damage, especially around his eyes. So much so that the ringside physician was considering ending the fight, thinking Ortega's vision was compromised.

However, it was referee Herb Dean who stepped in to verify the status of Brian Ortega's ability to fight and green-lit 'T-City' to continue. Breaking down the pay-per-view with Josh Thomson, John McCarthy hailed Herb Dean for his decisions inside the octagon.

"Herb did a good job of taking over the situation. Because the fighter responds to him, but doesn't respond to the ringside physician. Which means the ringside physician is thinking about stopping the fight. Herb did a nice job of getting the attention of the fighter, having the fighter converse with him, getting the information that he needed and allowing the fight to continue. So it was a good job by Herb."

Catch John McCarthy's comments on a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast below:

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Medical professional explains the severity of Brian Ortega's injures

In the aftermath of UFC 266, Brian Sutterer, M.D. took to YouTube to offer fans some insight into the extent of Brian Ortega's injuries. Having eaten a barrage of strikes from the Australian, Ortega developed some serious injuries around his eyes.

While breaking down Ortega's injuries, Sutterer explained that from the looks of things, it seemed like 'T-City' had suffered a fracture to his orbital bone. Likening his situation to that of Billy Joe Saunders in his fight against Canelo Alvarez, Sutterer revealed that both Saunders and Ortega had sunken cheeks, a tell-tale sign of a fracture.

Catch Brian Sutterer's post-UFC 266 video below: