Alex Pereira Slams Herb Dean Over Officiating at UFC Baku

Alex Pereira took a shot at Herb Dean following UFC Baku, criticizing the referee's handling of infractions during the middleweight battle between Sharabutdin Magomedov and Michel Pereira on Saturday.

What happened?

Herb Dean was officiating the bout and was late to halt the action when Magomedov grabbed Pereira's hair, and later failed to deduct a point when Magomedov poked Pereira in the eye.

Alex Pereira labeled Dean a “coward” for not holding Magomedov accountable, and Tom Aspinall, the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion, agreed with Pereira, saying “MMA doesn’t have ‘rules’ anymore, it’s just ‘suggestions’”.

Why it matters for Alex Pereira

Pereira had already been critical of Dean due to his officiating during the UFC Freedom 250 co-main event, where Pereira lost to Ciryl Gane via second-round TKO, and now plans to tell athletic commissions to avoid having Dean referee his fights moving forward.

Dean defended himself in a video posted on social media, but Pereira didn't want to hear it, and has called for Dean to be removed from his job.

What comes next?

The criticism of Herb Dean's officiating has sparked a debate about the state of refereeing in MMA, with some arguing that it's becoming a significant issue, while others think it's overblown, and Alex Pereira's comments have added fuel to the fire.

The UFC has not commented on the situation, but it's likely that the issue will continue to be discussed in the coming days, and Alex Pereira's plans to avoid having Dean referee his fights will be closely watched.

On Saturday, Rafael Fiziev took center stage and scored a second-round knockout finish over Manuel Torres to send the crowd home happy, but the controversy surrounding Herb Dean's officiating has overshadowed the result, and Alex Pereira's criticism has sparked a wider debate about the sport