DBM had a chance to meet with Herb Dean, renown UFC referee and fighter.
DBM: How did you first get started in MMA?
HERB DEAN: I first got involved in Martial Arts when I was a kid. I started to become curious about fighting professionally because the Gracie's moved to the Los Angeles Area and had a competition which raised my interest in MMA. One of my training partners was in the first UFC.
When Dean was involved in a car accident he felt like it hindered his fighting abilities, and began refereeing in the late 90's. This proved to be the start of one of the most respected and consistent referees in UFC today. Although the accident may have led to the end of his fighting days, it sparked his interest to start refereeing and teaching in places like Fight Academy.
INTERVIEWS
Dan Henderson: The Pride of the UFC
DBM interviewed Dan Henderson at the renowned Team Quest Gym in Murrieta, California. Dan is an accomplished wrestling, submission, and grappling competitor in FILA, the World Cup, the Pan American Games, and the Olympics. He has brawled, submitted, and rumbled his way to MMA Championships in Pride FC, the UFC, and the Brazil Open Tournament. In 2007, while still holding the Pride welterweight title, he KO'd Wanderlei Silva at Pride 33 to earn the middleweight championship, thereby becoming the first man to hold 2 belts at the same time in the same federation. [Those 2 belts go well with his 2 nicknames: "Hendo" and "Hollywood."]
The old adage "success doesn't come easy"-or in this case, Dan's road to a brilliant MMA record of 24-7 was no walk in the park-is an understatement. Apparently, he took this to heart by singe handedly dismantling an All Star lineup of some of the best fighters on both continents: Carlos Newton, Gilbert Yvel, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Renato "Babalu" Sabral, Renzo Gracie, Murilo Rua, Ryo Chonan, Akihiro Gono, Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin are some of his notable triumphs. Tough losses came at the hands of such seasoned warriors as Anderson Silva, Rampage Jackson, Kazuo Misaki, brothers Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Wanderlei Silva. Hendo's fought and beat the best, and we've all been here to witness his feats.
MAKING HEADLINES
Don't Blink Magazine was on the scene as Paul Herrera from Hitman Fights put on an outstanding MMA Cage Fight Event on August 14th-August 16th at the Fairplex in Pomona.
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