Alex Pereira brands Herb Dean a 'coward' after UFC Baku refereeing controversy

Alex Pereira escalated his feud with referee Herb Dean on Sunday, posting a single-word verdict on Instagram — ‘coward’ — alongside an image from the Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov vs. Michel Pereira bout at UFC Baku, where Dean’s handling of repeated fouls drew widespread criticism.

The post came days after Pereira publicly blamed Dean for his stoppage loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC White House, arguing that the referee failed to act on multiple punches and elbows to the back of the head that left him severely compromised before the finish. Dean neither paused the action nor warned Gane for the alleged illegal blows, a decision that has continued to fuel Pereira’s anger.

At UFC Baku on Saturday, Dean warned Magomedov twice during the fight for pulling Michel Pereira’s hair during ground exchanges, and visited the Russian’s corner between rounds to make clear that a further infraction would cost him a point. When Magomedov subsequently poked Pereira in the eye, Dean stopped the action to give the Brazilian time to recover but issued only a warning rather than the point deduction he had explicitly threatened.

For Alex Pereira, the episode was further evidence of a pattern. Having already gone public with his grievances after the Gane defeat, the former two-division champion is now using the Baku controversy to amplify scrutiny of Dean’s officiating. The back-to-back incidents have given Pereira a platform to press his case, and he appears in no hurry to drop it.