Referees, Judges Assigned for Championship Bouts Atop UFC 213 Lineup in Las Vegas

The Nevada Athletic Commission on Wednesday revealed referee and judging assignments for the two championship bouts at UFC 213 in Las Vegas.

Herb Dean will be the third man in the cage for the evening’s headliner, a women’s bantamweight championship clash between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko. Derek Cleary, Chris Lee and Glenn Trowbridge will score the bout from cageside.

Dean was also the referee for the first meeting between Nunes and Shevchenko at UFC 196 in Las Vegas on March 5, 2016. Nunes won that three-round contest via unanimous decision. There were no judging controversies in that bout, as Trowbridge and Lester Griffin saw it 29-27 and Junichiro Kamijo scored the contest 29-28 — all in favor of Nunes.

Meanwhile, veteran official “Big” John McCarthy will oversee the interim middleweight title bout between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker in the evening’s co-main event. Sal D’Amato, Kamijo and Jeff Mullen will be judges for the 185-pound contest.

Romero vs. Whittaker was booked in part because reigning middleweight champion Michael Bisping has been slow to heal from knee surgery undergone earlier this year and would not have been able to defend his belt in the summer. Romero is currently on an eight-bout winning streak, while Whittaker has won seven consecutive fights in the Octagon.

UFC 213 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 8 and airs on pay-per-view. The card also includes a welterweight clash between Robbie Lawler and Donald Cerrone as well as a heavyweight tilt pitting Alistair Overeem against Fabricio Werdum.