Herb Dean probably cost Germaine De Randamie $50,000 on Saturday night.

No. 1-ranked women’s bantamweight Germaine De Randamie showed why she is so highly regarded on Saturday night in Sacramento. The Iron Lady knocked out Aspen Ladd in 16 seconds, but a controversial early stoppage took some shine off of her performance. Here is a look at the fast finish:

Herb Dean with another bad early stoppage on Randemie / Ladd #ufc #UFCSacramento #UFCfightnight155 pic.twitter.com/eVXaEdguNP

— Sports Gifs & Videos (@Supreme_Gifs) 14 tháng 7, 2019

If you’re thinking the stoppage from veteran referee Herb Dean was a little quick, you’re not alone. While most gave De Randamie her props, the stoppage drew some criticism from members of the MMA community.

Hopefully the stoppage doesn’t take away from how impressive that was. Ladd is undefeated and very good. That’s a big-time performance by GDR.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) 14 tháng 7, 2019

Great punch GDR. Early stoppage Herb. Is what it is. Can’t go back now.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) 14 tháng 7, 2019

De Randamie landed a clean and flush right hand that dropped Ladd. She looked out of sorts momentarily and didn’t immediately look to cover her face from oncoming punches. Dean stepped in and stopped De Randamie from throwing anything at Ladd as she tried to regain her bearings.

Ideally, Dean should have allowed Ladd an opportunity to try and defend herself against one or two punches. Instead, he stepped in as one would after a more clear one-strike KO. After this performance, you almost wish Dean had been present for the Jorge Masvidal-Ben Askren bout last week. That’s the kind of KO that requires a referee to jump in after the initial blow.

I don’t think Dean stole the win away from Ladd; she was going to get pounded out. Ladd had been compromised enough that it would have been very difficult for her to recover against a striker of De Randamie’s caliber. However, that’s a perspective for a journalist or fan to take. A referee has to give each fighter the same opportunity to recover. Because of the somewhat anticlimactic finish, De Randamie was left out of the post-event bonuses awarded to those with the best performances. Otherwise, you’d have to consider a 16-second KO against a previously unbeaten opponent worthy of a bonus.

Ladd came into the fight ranked No. 4 in the women’s bantamweight division. A win would have potentially allowed her to leapfrog Ketlen Viera for the top contender spot, and perhaps positioned her for the next title shot against Amanda Nunes.

Now it is De Randamie who has seemingly solidified her position. However, instead of calling out the current champion for a rematch during her post-fight interview, De Randamie instead chose to offer a very general answer, saying “we’ll see who the UFC has next for me.” That non-committal response probably didn’t help her bonus chances either.

De Randamie’s last loss came in 2013 against, guess who? Nunes. It was a TKO defeat as a oung Lioness punished De Randamie with elbows. De Randamie hasn’t been the most active fighter since that loss.

She spent a brief time as the UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion, but ultimately relinquished the title when personal issues prevented her from defending the belt against No. 1 contender Cris Cyborg. Since 2013, De Randamie has fought just five times. She’s won each of those bouts with three victories coming by TKO.There is no question she is one of the most elite strikers in women’s MMA, but it seems she is a bit tentative to climb into the Octagon again with Nunes, who also holds the UFC featherweight crown. Nunes has established herself as the greatest women’s mixed martial artist in history, and she appears to be getting better with every performance. Nunes-De Randamie II makes sense, but we’ll see if it’s a fight the challenger is willing to chase.