Former UFC two-division champion Alex Pereira believes he was denied a fair opportunity in his loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 and is now calling for an immediate rematch.
Pereira’s bid to become the UFC’s first-ever three-division champion came to a disappointing end on Sunday when Gane stopped him in the second round to capture the interim heavyweight title. While the Frenchman controlled much of the fight and earned the finish, many fans quickly pointed out that several strikes during the finishing sequence appeared to land on the back of Pereira’s head.
In his first public comments since the defeat, Alex Pereira did not hold back as he criticized veteran referee Herb Dean for failing to intervene when the alleged illegal blows occurred.
“Putting myself in the referee’s shoes, my opponent’s there and catches me, I drop, he starts striking,” Pereira said. “The ref is watching that they are illegal shots, but he thinks like this, ‘How am I going to stop this fight?’ It’s illegal, it’s in the rules. You’re not going to be wrong if you stop it. It’s in the rules; you stop it.”
“If people say, ‘Why did you stop it?’ Look at the video; nobody was going to say anything about the ref. In that scenario, people give him credit as a man. But now he is not a man. He shouldn’t have been refereeing that fight.
To be honest, a guy like that should be punished. That’s how it is. It’s a very serious job. It’s a very serious event. What happened, the ref should’ve faced legal consequences for that.”
Adding to his frustration, Pereira revealed that he specifically raised concerns about Gane’s fighting style during the pre-fight rules meeting.
The Brazilian said he warned officials to pay close attention to potential fouls, citing previous incidents involving Gane. The interim heavyweight champion has faced criticism in the past, including eye-poke controversies during his bout with heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and accusations of illegal strikes from other opponents.
Pereira admitted that Gane’s jab legitimately hurt him and led to the knockdown, but he insists the damage that followed crossed the line.
“After the jab I dropped, I grabbed his legs,” Pereira explained. “It was there, throwing elbows, punches, he’s desperate. He threw a shot he didn’t even believe in, and he wanted to finish the fight in whatever way. He always does that. Multiple fights, if you look at his highlights, that’s what you’ll see all the time.”
“I was being very careful about that. Finger in the eye, kick to the groin, those things aren’t supposed to happen, but they do. Even I could potentially do that, but not because I meant to.”
“It’s a contact sport, but on the back of the head? You’re right there, man, you have to be seeing it. The day before the fight, we had a rules meeting. I asked Plinio to translate for him, and I told him, ‘Look, man, eye pokes and groin strikes can happen. They’re not supposed to, but they can happen. But this guy has a long history of it.'”
Despite acknowledging that the opening knockdown came from a clean strike, Pereira remains convinced that the illegal shots prevented him from recovering and ultimately changed the outcome of the fight.
“If you watch the footage, multiple shots there, multiple elbows,” Pereira said. “OK, sure, the jab, but given everything that happened afterward, those were illegal. I was getting up, and it became difficult to recover. I believe that if it wasn’t for those shots, I wouldn’t have been in that situation and could’ve possibly recovered. Maybe not, but they were very hard shots and illegal.”
Following the event, Pereira also shared photos on social media showing visible swelling on the back of his head, which he believes supports his claims.
The loss not only ended Pereira’s pursuit of a historic third UFC title but also removed him from a potential blockbuster showdown with heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
Instead of seeing Gane move on to a title unification bout, Pereira believes the UFC should run the fight back immediately.
“After the event, we were in the hotel. My manager got a call and we spoke,” Pereira said. “I explained everything, including the illegal shots. It was a good fight and it was building into something big. I said the right thing is an immediate rematch.”
“I spoke to the organization, and they asked for some time to get an answer because so much was happening. The event had just finished. They’re going to evaluate everything and decide what they’re going to do. I’m going to wait a bit, but very soon we’ll have an answer.”
While the result was far from what he envisioned, Pereira has no regrets about moving up to heavyweight. The former middleweight and light heavyweight champion built his UFC career by embracing risks, and he views the challenge of becoming a three-division champion as another step in that journey.
“Like I said in the octagon, if I hadn’t taken risks every time I fought, I wouldn’t be who I am today,” Pereira said. “A third belt—nobody has done it. Nobody. Coming from middleweight to light heavyweight and then heavyweight is very difficult, but it’s possible.”
“Obviously, because of some mistakes, it wasn’t this time. But those who know me know how I come back. I will be back stronger.”
Pereira also dismissed suggestions that he needs to overhaul his preparation following the defeat.
“In terms of training, do I need to change anything? I don’t think so. I think I did everything right. The strategy was working, and the ideas my team and I had were being put into practice.”
“Risks are part of the game. Sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t. But for those who know me, be certain about one thing, I will return stronger, more focused, and as dedicated as ever. I’m happy. I’m happy with everything.”
With the controversy surrounding the stoppage continuing to generate debate, all eyes are now on the UFC’s next move.
