O'Malley: Pereira raised illegal blow concerns before UFC White House

Sean O'Malley says Alex Pereira raised concerns about illegal strikes during the pre-fight rules meeting at UFC White House, minutes before absorbing multiple questionable blows in his interim heavyweight title loss to Ciryl Gane.

According to Sherdog, O'Malley revealed on his YouTube channel that Pereira used a translator to clarify the rules on back-of-the-head shots with referee Herb Dean. The Brazilian's caution proved prescient when Gane landed several 12-to-6 elbows to the back of Pereira's head during their June 14 bout, with no intervention from Dean.

Gane's history of borderline finishes under scrutiny

O'Malley, who stopped Aiemann Zahabi on the same card, connected Pereira's apprehension to Gane's previous finishes. "Because I remember when Gane finished JDS and elbowing him in the back of the head," he said, per the report. The Frenchman has drawn criticism for similar infractions against Junior dos Santos and Tai Tuivasa, both of whom absorbed back-of-the-head strikes during stoppages.

Gane rocked Pereira with a jab early in round two and unloaded on the turtled-up former champion before Dean waved off the fight. The sequence included multiple elbows that appeared to land on the prohibited area, though no acknowledgement came from the official.

Gane's record with questionable blows extends beyond grounded opponents. His UFC 320 bout with heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall ended in a no contest after an unintentional double eye poke rendered the Englishman unable to continue. The pattern has made Gane a talking point among fans and analysts who track officiating inconsistencies.

O'Malley now holds a 19-2 record at bantamweight, while Pereira dropped to 13-4 following the interim title defeat. No word yet on when either Gane or Pereira will return to the octagon.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Sean O’Malley: 'Poatan' mentioned illegal blows during UFC White House rules meeting