Referee Herb Dean once again found himself at the center of a controversy.

In the co-main event at Baku, Shara "Bullet" Magomedov defeated Michel Pereira via decision. The majority of the drama happened in the opening round when Bullet pulled Pereira's hair while defending on the ground. Dean caught the foul but did not penalize Bullet with a point deduction.

This incident follows two other recent fights where Dean was scrutinized. At UFC White House, Dean allowed Ciryl Gane to repeatedly hit Alex Pereira in the back of the head, according to Pereira, who called Dean a "coward." Andre Fili also claimed Dean missed back-of-the-head strikes in his loss at UFC Vegas 119.

Schaub Sounds Off

Former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub is taking Dean to task.

"The narrative is not Shara Bullet," Schaub said. "It's Herb Dean has once again inserted himself into the controversy. When you're in that octagon, you're the sheriff. He just doesn't take responsibility."

Schaub pointed to a pattern of inaction.

"This is three in a row," Schaub said. "At some point, you have to insert yourself. Why are you so scared to take a point?"

What Fighters Know

Schaub argued that if Dean doesn't change his approach, fighters won't change theirs either.

"If Herb's your ref, go ahead and poke him in the eyes, don't worry about it," Schaub said. "He's not going to do shit. Grab hair, grab the fence, get away with as much as possible. He's just so timid, so scared to take a fucking point."

Schaub's Solution

"Herb Dean should go completely the opposite direction and be strict as hell, no warnings, taking points," Schaub said. "The only reason you're seeing this three fights in a row, these boys know, Herb ain't going to do shit."