Brazilian fighter Alex Pereira has publicly accused Frenchman Ciryl Gane of landing a series of "illegal shots" during their interim heavyweight title bout at the UFC's White House event on Sunday. Pereira, a former middleweight and light-heavyweight champion, suffered a second-round stoppage, which dashed his ambition of becoming the UFC's first three-division titleholder. He claims these illicit strikes were a significant factor in his inability to recover during the fight.
The controversial moments occurred after Gane dropped Pereira with a jab. As Pereira attempted to regain his footing, Gane delivered multiple downward elbows and punches, with some appearing to connect with the back of Pereira's head. The fight was subsequently halted by referee Herb Dean. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Pereira stated, "I was getting up. It became difficult to recover. I believe that if it wasn't for those shots I could have possibly recovered. Maybe not, but they were very hard shots and illegal." He further described Gane as "desperate" and eager to end the fight.
Pereira later shared images on Instagram, displaying visible swelling and bruising on the back of his head, which he attributes to Gane's actions. He also revealed that he had spoken with referee Herb Dean the day before the Washington D.C. bout, expressing concerns about Gane's striking history. "I said 'look, eye poke, groin strikes, those things can happen, but this guy has a long history of it - dirty shots, throwing punches to the back of the head, elbows', so I was worried," Pereira recounted.
In response to the accusations, Dean defended his officiating decisions. He clarified the UFC's rules, explaining that blows to the nape of the neck are illegal, as are strikes within a two-inch column down the back of the head. However, strikes to the sides of this specific area are permissible. Dean acknowledged the confusion surrounding the rule, stating, "It's different in boxing, and the way we enforce this rule is we focus on the nape of the neck, which is really what the rule should be called."
The incident has also drawn comments from other fighters. Britain's Tom Aspinall, whose own heavyweight title fight against Gane in October was declared a no-contest after Gane delivered multiple eye pokes, observed that it "looked like there was a lot of illegal elbows going on." Aspinall had previously labelled Gane a "cheat" following their encounter, which necessitated surgery on both his eyes. Gane, however, has consistently maintained that he respects the rules.
Source: Alex Pereira YouTube channel, Instagram, Herb Dean interview