Charles Oliveira: Herb Dean's Gane handling 'should serve as lesson'

Charles Oliveira believes Herb Dean's handling of illegal strikes during Alex Pereira's loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC White House offers a chance for officials to improve, but stopped short of demanding Dean be removed from future assignments.

The BMF champion told MMA Fighting he saw clear fouls during Gane's finish of Pereira, when the Frenchman dropped the Brazilian with a jab and followed with punches and elbows that appeared to land on the back of the head. Oliveira said Pereira defended correctly after the knockdown, but Dean allowed strikes to continue in an illegal zone. "In the middle of that chaos — not because he's Brazilian, but the whole world saw it and it was obvious — some shots landed to the back of the head when they shouldn't have," Oliveira said.

Oliveira recalls Chandler rematch fouls

Oliveira drew a parallel to his 2024 decision win over Michael Chandler, when referee Keith Peterson missed similar infractions in the final round. He said Chandler poked him in the eye and then threw punches while he was hurt, several landing illegally as he went down. "Think about how many shots I took to the back of the head," he said, per MMA Fighting. "If I had lost to Michael Chandler that night, if the referee had stopped the fight, would my career have continued with the same momentum?"

Pereira has called for action against Dean and said he will refuse bouts if the veteran is assigned to his corner. Oliveira declined to join that stance, saying Dean has refereed five of his 37 UFC appearances and always treated him with respect. "The angle he had might not have given him the best view," Oliveira said. "To me, he's still a great referee."

Still, Oliveira argued the stakes in Pereira-Gane — a potential third title for Pereira, enormous visibility for Gane — should remind everyone involved to stay sharper. "I think situations like this serve as a lesson for other referees, for the UFC, for the commission, for everyone involved," he said. Pereira's next fight assignment has not been announced.

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• MMA Fighting — Charles Oliveira: Herb Dean’s mishandling of Ciryl Gane’s illegal strikes should ‘serve as a lesson’