Alex Pereira is preparing to challenge his loss at the UFC’s historic White House event, where he was knocked out by Ciryl Gane in the first of two heavyweight title bouts. The event took place over the weekend in front of the U.S. government building and featured six knockouts and one corner stoppage, along with two major title-fight upsets.
Pereira, who was making his debut at heavyweight in the interim title fight, argued in a video posted Tuesday that Gane used illegal strikes. He also criticized referee Herb Dean, saying he ignored his complaints during the bout. Pereira said, “At the start of the fight I told the referee to watch for it, but he ignored me. You can see on the replays some of his illegal shots. Several punches and elbows to the back of my head.”
He added, “This referee is not a man. He should not have officiated this fight at all. A person like that needs to be punished.” According to MMA reports, Pereira’s team plans to file an appeal and will use fight video to support the claim that Gane landed illegal blows.
Pereira also said Dean should never referee one of his fights again. It remains to be seen whether the appeal will change the result.
