Dana White: Herb Dean 'made a mistake' by stopping Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber at UFC 169

Hey, nobody's perfect.

That includes longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) referee Herb Dean, who came under fire last Saturday night (Feb. 1, 2014) for what many are calling a premature stoppage in the UFC 169 bantamweight main event between Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber.

Including UFC President Dana White.

White took the podium at the UFC 169 post-fight press conference (watch it) to re-establish his position on Dean as the best referee in the business; however, that was accompanied by the admission that stopping the 135-pound title fight in the opening frame was a mistake.

His words:

"You've heard me up here a million times, talk about Herb Dean. I think he is the best referee in the business. He rarely ever makes mistakes, but he made a mistake tonight. Faber was blocking those shots. He gave the thumbs up and the guy is the best in the business as far as I'm concerned. Tonight, he made a mistake."

See a replay of the finish here.

Faber was popped and dropped midway through the first round and was unable to escape the ensuing bumrush. While Barao had not yet sealed the deal, Faber was not intelligently defending himself, save for a single thumb he produced to let Dean know he was still alive.

It either went unnoticed, or was flat-out ignored.

Either way, the record books will reflect a technical knockout win for the champion, who is quickly running out of division contenders. Unless, of course, Dominick Cruz can get his groin out of the gutter and finally make his way back to the fight game.

For more UFC 169 results and fallout, including recaps, videos, highlights and more, check out our "Barao vs. Faber 2" live story stream by clicking here.