Alex Pereira reveals head damage photos after UFC 322 defeat and accuses Herb Dean of missing illegal strikes

Alex Pereira has strongly criticized veteran UFC referee Herb Dean following his loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 322 on June 14. Days after the fight, Pereira shared a video on Instagram showing marks on the back of his head and claimed several illegal strikes went unnoticed during the interim heavyweight title bout.

The former two-division champion said he had already warned Dean before the fight about the possibility of strikes landing to the back of his head. Pereira believes the referee failed to act despite what he described as multiple punches and elbows in that area. He also called for Dean to be removed from officiating UFC fights, saying referees should face consequences when mistakes affect fighters’ safety. The comments came after Pereira suffered a TKO defeat against Gane, a result that ended his bid to capture interim heavyweight gold.

While Gane celebrated one of the biggest wins of his career, the focus quickly shifted to Pereira’s claims about the officiating and whether the referee should have intervened sooner.

Alex Pereira says Ciryl Gane landed illegal shots and claims Herb Dean ignored repeated warnings

Speaking in the Instagram video, Pereira showed visible damage to the back of his head and explained why he was upset with how the fight was handled.“It was a lucky jab and he took advantage… that was the opportunity of a lifetime for him.

This guy has a long history of it. Dirty shots, punches to the back of the head.”Pereira said he specifically spoke with Herb Dean before the fight and asked him to watch closely for those situations.“I brought that up with the referee ahead of time and asked him to keep an eye on it… if you watch the footage man, multiple shots, multiple elbows to the back of the head.”The Brazilian fighter then turned his attention directly to the officiating.

He argued that Dean should not have been in charge of the contest and called for action against referees who repeatedly make serious errors.“The referee is not a man. He shouldn’t have been refereeing that fight. A guy like that should be punished.”Pereira also urged fellow fighters to push for change. According to him, athletes need to work together if they want higher standards from officials inside the cage.“This will only change when fighters come together to push out referees who continue making mistakes like this. Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen to you. We have the power to make it happen.” As of now, neither Herb Dean nor the UFC has publicly responded to Pereira’s comments.