Alex Pereira and Andre Fili have publicly raised concerns about Herb Dean’s refereeing in recent UFC bouts, specifically regarding alleged illegal blows to the back of the head.
Pereira pointed to his interim heavyweight title fight against Ciryl Gane at the UFC White House event in Washington, DC, where he was knocked down and appeared to take several shots to the back of the head under Dean’s watch. Reflecting on the situation, Pereira said, "Honestly, I’m afraid to go back to fighting with all this going on," and added, "I think I’ve already done my part."
Fili echoed similar frustrations following his technical knockout loss to Vinicius Oliveira at UFC Vegas 119, saying the sequence that led to the finish began with what he considered an illegal blow. "Lots of people hitting me up about the shots to the back of the head," Fili said. "I’m very frustrated because it was an illegal shot that started the end of the fight for me. Everything else before that was covering up, I was intelligently defending myself, I was firing back, I was weathering the storm, and I knew [Oliveira would] be exhausted after that. I’m not especially happy that Herb let those go. I’m not especially happy that he let two or three of them go."
Both fighters have centered their criticism on Dean’s handling of alleged illegal shots in their respective bouts, bringing renewed attention to officiating in recent UFC events.
