Francisco Trinaldo: Herb Dean Could Have Stopped Fight Earlier

While Francisco Trinaldo respects Herb Dean’s position as the referee, even he felt his fight with Jai Herbert could have been stopped sooner.

One of the major talking points of UFC Fight Island 3 this past weekend was Dean’s controversial stoppage of Trinaldo’s knockout win over Herbert.

Herbert fell to the ground after a delayed response with Trinaldo refusing to land more strikes as he waited for Dean to stop the fight. However, Dean let it continue as Trinaldo landed a couple more before the fight was eventually stopped.

The stoppage has since led to a lot of debate as well as controversy with commentator Dan Hardy notably shouting at Dean to stop the fight at the time. As far as Trinaldo is concerned? He believes the fight could have been stopped earlier.

However, it ultimately depends on the referee.

“It could’ve been stopped earlier, but I’m a fighter, not a referee,” Trinaldo told reporters at the post-fight press conference (via MMA Junkie). “I go there to do my job and the referee is the one in charge.

“I saw and stopped a little bit and waited, but the referee didn’t stop the fight so I continued on. The referee is in charge.”

Trinaldo Wants Diego Sanchez

The controversy took some of the gloss off Trinaldo’s win as he continues to be a major problem even at the age of 41.

However, he notably missed weight for the first time against Herbert and now plans on moving up to welterweight. He even has an opponent in mind.

“‘Ive thought about it before and I really want to fight Diego Sanchez,” Trinaldo explained. “I’ve been watching him fight for a long time, I have a training partner who faced him back in the day and it really made me train even harder.

“I think it’s a fight where the fans are really going to be the ones winning and it’s just a fight I really want to have in the UFC. He’s also a veteran like me.”

Age is clearly not a factor for the Brazilian, who feels any fighter can continue fighting as long as they have the passion to do so.

“I think a fighter needs to fight for as long as he has that desire and that want to fight,” Trinaldo added. “If he doesn’t feel like he no longer has that passion, then he should stop fighting. I really have that desire, this is what I do best. And if one day I don’t feel like doing this anymore, I’ll just set up a hammock under a tree and just chill out.”

What do you make of Trinaldo’s comments?