Alex Pereira calls Herb Dean 'coward' after UFC Baku fouls
Alex Pereira went after referee Herb Dean again following Saturday's UFC Baku event, calling him a coward on Instagram after another disputed performance inside the cage.
The former two-division champion posted an image from Shara Bullet Magomedov's fight against Michel Pereira with a caption that read "Herb Dean … coward," according to MMA Fighting. Pereira has been critical of Dean since his own loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC White House, when he claimed the referee ignored illegal strikes to the back of his head during the stoppage defeat.
Warnings piled up but no points came off
Dean warned Magomedov twice in the opening round for yanking Pereira's hair during ground exchanges. Between rounds, the referee visited Magomedov's corner to explain that one more foul would result in a point deduction. Later in the fight, Magomedov poked Pereira in the eye. Dean stopped the action and gave the Brazilian time to recover, but handed out only another warning instead of taking a point.
Pereira, who dropped Bullet with a right hand in the first round, lost a unanimous decision 29-28 on all three cards. The hair pulls came after Bullet hit the canvas early, with Pereira working from guard. Bullet swept late in the round to escape further damage.
Magomedov improved to 16-1 and called the win a step toward bigger fights. Pereira continues to criticize Dean's officiating across multiple events, hoping to draw attention to what he sees as inconsistent enforcement of fouls.
Photo: The White House / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
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Original reporting:
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