1.1k shares SHARE TWEET SMS SEND EMAIL Herb Dean Veteran referee Herb Dean will oversee a a light heavyweight grudge match between current UFC champ (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and former title holder (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC). The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously during a meeting today in Las Vegas to appoint Dean to officiating duties in the contest, which serves as the main event of UFC 197. The five-member commission also selected veteran judges Sal D’Amato, Junichiro Kamijo and Chris Lee to score the title fight. Dean will receive $1,900 for the assignment. The judges will receive $1,600 each. UFC 197 takes place April 23 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. The main card airs live on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. Cormier did offer a brief objection to the assignment, though his concerns were raised after the appointment had already been made for the headlining contest. Cormier, who joined the meeting by phone, admitted he wasn’t thrilledwith Dean’s handling of his UFC 182 matchup with Jones, specifically his decision to allow the contest to remain in the clinch for long stages of the latter rounds of the fight. “I’ve got a question,” Cormier chimed in.” So, this last time Jon and I fought, Herb Dean was the official that time, so UFC guys said that they reached out, and I don’t have the hugest concern, but, yeah, that would be my little issue. It would be the same exact official as last time. “Last time, late in the fight, we actually didn’t do much, and maybe we should have been broken up a couple of times. I don’t know if that matters – I just wanted to say that, as this, you know, a big event in my life.” UFC 197’s co-feature sees UFC flyweight champion (23-2-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) take on undefeated challenger (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC). NSAC officials today also elected John McCarthy to oversee that five-round matchup, while Derek Cleary, Jeff Mullen and Glenn Trowbridge will serve as judges. Compensation levels for theco-feature equal that of the headliner. Additional referees considered for both assignments included Yves Lavigne and Mark Smith. Marcos Rosales was also considered for UFC 197’s featured bouts but was not selected. In additional NSAC-related officiating news, Dan Miragliotta – long a fixture as the third man in the cage in big fights on the East Coast – was granted a referee license in Nevada. For more on , check out the section of the site. , , , , , ,   1.1k shares SHARE TWEET SMS SEND EMAIL More News