Merab Dvalishvili had the entire world in splits at Riyadh Season Noche UFC, as he planted multiple kisses on top of Sean O’Malley during their fight. Although this act got him a strong fist from behind, many fight fans believe that the referee in charge should have made a different judgment.

As per one of the most celebrated former referees, Herb Dean was seemingly caught off-guard. Needless to say, it wasn’t something that one would expect from a mixed martial arts bout. The ex-referee indeed claimed that Dean’s decision was not the right one, and instead, suggested other ways Dean could have assessed the situation.

Herb Dean receives stern advice from John McCarthy

The former UFC referee, Big John McCarthy appeared on episode #505 of the ‘Weighing In’ podcast. Therein, he reflected back at Herb Dean’s decision during the second round of the main event at UFC 306. With just about 10 seconds remaining for the end of the round, Dvalishvili took control of O’Malley’s back with his head in ‘The Machine’s tight grip. But when he realized that he couldn’t finish the fight in so little time, he decided to have some fun. The Georgian fighter planted a few kisses on ‘Suga’s back. 

Dean had to act, even though he was as surprised as the rest of the fanbase. He tapped the fighter and he began to walk away as if the round had already ended. McCarthy believed that it was a wrong decision by Dean. He said, “I can disqualify if I want. I’m gonna give you the chance to go win the fight. But that’s something that… When that happened, Herb was caught off-guard. Let’s just be honest. He got caught off-guard. And he went to stop the action, and then kinda got in between, but wasn’t sure what he should do, because he knew the end of the round was here. And now, Merab is walking off like it’s the end of the round.” 

But in the end, McCarthy didn’t leave Herb Dean without a correction, and let the referee in charge of the fight have a couple of alternate ways that he could have exerted his judgment on the act. ‘Big John’ continued, “He should have either made a decisive stop. ‘Time. You get over there, you get over there’, and do something about what just occurred. Whatever he’s going to do. If he wants to, you know, give him a hard warning over it, that’s fine. You wanna take points, take points for unsportsmanlike conduct. That’s fine. But he got caught in the middle of it. And, if you’re not gonna do something about the kiss, then you should have let Sean get up.” 

This act was something that no one ever expected. Let’s hear it from ‘The Machine’ and learn what exactly made him kiss his opponent in the middle of all the action.

Merab Dvalishvili reveals why he kissed Sean O’Malley at UFC 306

During the post-fight press conference for UFC 306, the reporters undoubtedly questioned Dvalishvili about the kiss. He claimed that he already knew that the round was coming to an end. It was practically impossible to make his opponent tap out within just a few seconds. All that the Georgian mixed martial artist wanted to do was impose his dominance and control on the Octagon. And one of the ways to do that was his tomfoolery. 

The newly crowned bantamweight champion said, “And I know he can wait, and he’s not going to go sleep or tap this. And I want to make just a little fun of him, you know, and make him just. You know, I don’t hate the guy; just make fun of him, but same time, give a little kiss to show that I dominate, I control this fight, I break you, you know. That’s why I was kissing.”

But little did he know that the round still had about 3 seconds left for the end of the fight, and he started walking away from O’Malley as soon as Dean touched him. But ‘Suga’ saw this as an opportunity and smacked the Georgian with a strong fist from behind. This act garnered quite a bit of laughter from the fighting community. But in the end, Dvalishvili indeed got inside his opponent’s head and won the bout via a unanimous decision. 

Do you agree with McCarthy’s decision? Should Herb Dean have taken a few points away from Dvalishvili for the act? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.