Alex Pereira says he will challenge his loss to Ciryl Gane after being knocked out in the UFC event held at the White House over the weekend, an unprecedented card staged in front of the U.S. government building. The event featured six knockouts and one corner stoppage, including two major upsets in title fights.
Pereira lost the first of the two championship bouts, the interim heavyweight title fight, in his first appearance in the division. On Wednesday, the Brazilian said he was refusing to accept the result and claimed he had evidence that Gane used illegal strikes during the fight.
In a video released on Tuesday, Pereira attacked Gane and referee Herb Dean, saying: "He gave one good punch and then took advantage of the situation. He has a long history of illegal strikes, dirty punches to the back of the head." He added that he warned Dean at the start of the fight, but the referee ignored him, and insisted replay shows several illegal punches and elbows to the back of his head. Pereira also said, "This referee is not a man. He should never have officiated this fight. Such a person should be punished."
According to MMA reports, Pereira's team intends to file an appeal and use fight video to support the claim that Gane landed illegal blows. Pereira also said Dean will never referee one of his fights again. The outcome of the appeal is still pending.
