Days after his loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250, Alex Pereira is still questioning how the fight was officiated, and he is not the only one.
The former two-division UFC champion suffered a second-round TKO defeat in the interim heavyweight title bout at the White House. While Pereira has not directly blamed the result on illegal strikes, he believes several shots to the back of his head should have drawn intervention from referee Herb Dean.
Pereira and his team are now exploring possible avenues to challenge the outcome.
Pereira Questions Referee’s Handling of Fight
Speaking through coach and interpreter Plinio Cruz with MMA Junkie, Pereira said his biggest issue is how the situation was managed inside the cage.
“Are we saying these shots could’ve switched the results of the fights? It could have.”
“Maybe without all those shots, I could’ve came back much better on the feet than when I took all those shots.”
As he reviewed the fight, Pereira said his concerns shifted toward the officiating.
“I saw how bad was the referee’s posture: He did not look to protect my physical integrity of that fight, which is his job.”
Pereira later revealed he had already discussed Gane’s tendency to commit fouls during a pre-fight rules meeting with Dean.
“All props to Ciryl Gane with that jab, but then when I got knocked down, he followed up.”
“I tried to do a sweep. When Ciryl Gane saw he was about to get swept on the floor, he started throwing those illegal shots.”
“Just for the record, Ciryl has a history of doing these kind of things.”
“Knowing he had this kind of behavior, I did address this to the referee the day before when we had a rules meeting.”
Legal Action and Strong Criticism of Herb Dean
Pereira confirmed he has already spoken with management about taking further action. His management team later stated they are examining every possible option for an appeal.
“We are going to pursue this legally. We’re going to talk to our lawyers. The bill is going to come from some people.”
The Brazilian star also took aim at Dean following the referee’s instructional video explaining legal and illegal strikes to the back of the head.
“First of all, he does the complete opposite of what he posted on that video,”
“He posted on that video explaining the rules, but he did not follow his own rules that he followed in that video.”
“Herb had a record of making mistakes like that.”
“I think everybody has had enough of that. Maybe his time is up.”
Pereira added that he would not accept Dean as the referee for any future bout.
Safety Concerns Drive Pereira’s Frustration
While the loss itself remains a point of frustration, Pereira said his larger concern is fighter safety.
He pointed to former boxer Prichard Colon, whose career and life changed dramatically after suffering severe injuries linked to repeated blows to the back of the head.
“Look at this situation with the boxer Prichard Colon, for example guys,”
“He’s doomed for the rest of his life.”
“It breaks my heart to see something like that because we are talking about someone’s life.”
Pereira hopes the debate surrounding his fight can lead to stricter enforcement moving forward.
“At the end of the day, I’m just trying to avoid this becoming something major and a regular behavior.”