Tom Aspinall: UFC referees ‘didn’t enforce’ eye poke penalties, says Herb Dean

Referees and athletic commissions in the United States meet regularly to discuss the rules and administration of mixed martial arts.

It is at the referee’s discretion whether he considers the eye poke to be intentional or not, which affects the resulting penalty.

Dean says deducting a point from an opponent, regardless of intent, has not been a regular practice of referees in the UFC or the mixed martial arts world more broadly, but they are allowed to do so.

“This here is a dangerous mistake and someone will continue to do something dangerous,” Dean said.

“We should start taking points by having them take that action before it actually leads to them hurting someone.

“The other thing about mixed martial arts is that we play a one-point sport,” Dean added.

“Most fights are three rounds, what’s the score? 29-28.

“So you take one point, you’ve got a majority of wins and you turn it into a draw. But we’re going to have to do something, so this is one of the things we’ve thought about and we’re going to do it.

“This is something that will happen.”