3<\/p>\n Pereira was stopped in the second round by Gane in the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250<\/p>\n Gane dropped Pereira with a jab midway through the round before following up with a series of strikes to his grounded foe.<\/p>\n Many of the shots appeared to land on the back of Pereira’s head, and while he was able to make his way back to his feet, he was eventually stopped against the cage. <\/p>\n Herb Dean was the third man in the Octagon for the interim heavyweight title clash, and Pereira has berated the veteran referee for his lack of intervention after the illegal strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cPutting myself in the referee\u2019s shoes, my opponent\u2019s there and catches me, I drop, he starts striking,\u201d Pereira said on his YouTube channel.<\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE ON MMA <\/p>\n \u201cThe ref is watching that they are illegal shots, but he thinks like this, \u2018How am I going to stop this fight?\u2019<\/p>\n “It\u2019s illegal, it\u2019s in the rules. You\u2019re not going to be wrong if you stop it. It\u2019s in the rules; you stop it.<\/p>\n \u201cIf people say, \u2018Why did you stop it?\u2019 Look at the video; nobody was going to say anything about the ref. In that scenario, people give him credit as a man. <\/p>\n “But now he is not a man. He shouldn\u2019t have been refereeing that fight. <\/p>\n “To be honest, a guy like that should be punished. <\/p>\n “That\u2019s how it is. It\u2019s a very serious job. It\u2019s a very serious event. <\/p>\n “What happened, the ref should\u2019ve faced legal consequences for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Ciryl Gane’s history of fouls <\/p>\n Pereira is particularly aggrieved with Dean, as he took him to one side before the bout to highlight Gane’s history of committing fouls. <\/p>\n The Frenchman’s last outing against Tom Aspinall<\/a> ended in a no-contest after he poked the undisputed champion in the eyes.<\/a><\/p>\n He was also previously accused of elbowing former UFC heavyweight titlist Junior Dos Santos on the back of the head when they locked horns back in December 2020. <\/p>\n \u201cAfter the jab I dropped, I grabbed his legs,\u201d Pereira added.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was there, throwing elbows, punches, he\u2019s desperate. He threw a shot he didn\u2019t even believe in, and he wanted to finish the fight in whatever way. <\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n A few of Gane’s shots in the finishing sequence appeared to land on the back of Pereira’s head<\/p>\n “He always does that, multiple fights, if you look at his highlights, that\u2019s what you\u2019ll see all the time. I was being very careful about that. <\/p>\n “Finger in the eye, kick to the groin, that there isn\u2019t supposed to happen, but it does. <\/p>\n “Even I could potentially do that, but not because I meant to.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a contact sport, but on the back of the head? You\u2019re right there, man, you have to be seeing it. <\/p>\n “But that was the opportunity of a lifetime for him, and the referee was right there to see it. The day before the fight, we had a rules meeting. <\/p>\n “I asked [coach] Plinio [Cruz] to translate for him, and I told him, \u2018Look, man, eye poke, groin strikes, those things can happen. <\/p>\n![\"WASHINGTON,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2281629622.jpg\")
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