Referees, Judges Revealed for Both Title Bouts at UFC 276

Tristen CritchfieldJun 14, 2022


Herb Dean will be the third man in the cage when Israel Adesanya defends his middleweight crown against Jared Cannonier in the UFC 276 main event.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission revealed during a meeting on Tuesday that the veteran official will oversee the 185-pound title affair. Dean was also the referee for Adesanya’s last Octagon appearance, a split-decision triumph over Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 on Feb. 12.

Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato and Junichiro Kamijo will serve as cageside judges for the Adesanya vs. Cannonier.

Meanwhile, Marc Goddard will officiate the featherweight championship trilogy clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in the evening’s co-headliner. Goddard did not referee either of the first two meetings between Volkanovski and Holloway, both of which were won by the Australian champion.

D’Amato, Mike Bell and Ron McCarthy will score the 145-pound title tilt from cageside.

UFC 276 takes place on July 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will also see Sean Strickland square off against Alex Pereira in a matchup of middleweight contenders, while Miesha Tate will make her flyweight debut against Lauren Murphy.