Alex Pereira is confident things weren’t properly handled in his fight at UFC Freedom 250, and now he’s considering his options to rectify them.
In the interim heavyweight title fight Sunday at the White House, Pereira (13-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) lost to Ciryl Gane by second-round TKO. He’s since protested some of the shots were to the back of the head – and that a foul should’ve been called.
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“Are we saying these shots could’ve switched the results of the fights? It could have. It could not have,” Pereira told MMA Junkie on Wednesday through his interpreter and coach Plinio Cruz. “We’re not blaming it on this. But maybe with all those shots, I could’ve came back much better on the feet than when I took all those shots. … The more it started sinking in my head, 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 said he was exploring legal options to rectify the situation but didn’t clarify if he meant an appeal with the commission or a different route. His management, ToughMedia Corp., later confirmed to MMA Junkie that they are “looking at all grounds for an appeal.”
“I had a long conversation with my manager last night,” Pereira said. “We are going to pursue this legally. We’re going to talk to our lawyers. The bill is going to come from some people.”
Referee Herb Dean issued an instructional video Tuesday about the back-of-the-head rules in response to the ongoing public conversation. Dean showed the areas that are legal and illegal, according to the Unified Rules of MMA. Pereira didn’t dispute the general information Dean presented in the video. His issue was that he doesn’t think Dean applied it properly, all the more frustrating considering he said he spoke to Dean the day prior about Gane being a frequent fouler.
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“All props to Ciryl Gane with that jab, but then when I got knocked down, he followed up,” Pereira said. “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. But we’re not saying he’s doing it because he’s a bad person or anything like that. Maybe it’s just his instincts when he’s in trouble. He gets desperate and starts doing stuff like that. But the ref is there to protect me and Ciryl. Knowing he had this kind of behavior, I did address this to the referee the day before when we had a rules meeting. This was addressed to take action.”
Alex Pereira on Herb Dean: ‘Maybe his time is up’ as a referee
Pereira went as far as to say Dean should not referee again – and definitely won’t be refereeing his fights.
“First of all, he does the complete opposite of what he posted on that video,” Pereira said. “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. He had some good times. People talk good, but at the same time he does have a record, just like anybody on the job. He probably has some good moments but is getting old and getting a little uncomfortable. He’s just getting a little more aggravated. I think everybody has had enough of that. Maybe his time is up. Because when you deal with things like this, (I am) not only talking about fighting. It’s starting to become a life-threatening situation. Somebody can risk their lives with shots like that.
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“I might fight for sometime. We don’t know how long. Eventually I’m going to retire. I am speaking for the new generation, for the people who are coming there in the future – these kids, the other fighters. This can end up really bad. I think everybody already had enough of Herb Dean. We don’t know if he should even continue on the job at this point. He got comfortable, and he just keeps getting every so often, there’s more and more stuff happening the same way with him. … 100 percent (he won’t referee my fights again).”
Alex Pereira concerned about more than himself
Pereira said it’s not potential financial loss or stunted legacy gain that has him the most concerned about the way things went down Sunday.
For him, it’s about health and safety – and a fear of what blows to the back of the head can do down the line to a combat sports athlete. Pereira referenced boxer Prichard Colon, who in 2015 suffered a brain aneurysm and paralysis due to rabbit punches absorbed in a boxing bout.
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“Look at this situation with the boxer Prichard Colon, for example guys,” Pereira said. “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 – a person’s life who got messed up because of things like that. I think it’s time to finish and end that.”
If nothing changes with the result of his bout, Pereira hopes he can persuade change going forward for others.
“At the end of the day, I’m just trying to avoid this becoming something major and a regular behavior,” Pereira said. “Because what if this turns into a strategy? They know the referees don’t stop, so they take the guys down and knock the guys down and just follow up with heavy shots on the back of the head until something worse happens to somebody.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Alex Pereira exploring ‘all grounds’ to appeal UFC Freedom 250 loss
