Aspinall and Moicano back Pereira in growing backlash against referee Herb Dean

Tom Aspinall and Renato ‘Moicano’ Carneiro have added their voices to a mounting wave of criticism directed at veteran UFC referee Herb Dean, backing Alex Pereira’s repeated calls for accountability following a string of controversial officiating decisions.

Carneiro, widely regarded as one of Brazil’s most prominent MMA commentators and influencers, published a video on his YouTube channel taking direct aim at Dean’s handling of the UFC Baku bout between Michel Pereira and Sharabutdin Magomedov. The Russian fighter repeatedly grabbed Michel Pereira’s hair during the contest — a clear foul — yet Dean issued no point deductions.

“Three weeks in a row where Herb Dean has interfered with results: first at UFC White House, then in the ‘Lok Dog’ vs. Andre Fili fight last week, and now in the Michel vs. Shara fight,” Carneiro said. “The truth is this guy manipulates results. How does he not deduct a point? The Russian committed an eye poke and grabbed Michel’s hair three times, yet he did nothing. If he had punished [Magomedov for the infractions], the result would have been a draw. Once again, he made a huge mistake and interfered with a fight’s outcome.”

Aspinall, the UFC interim heavyweight champion, took to Instagram Stories to weigh in on the same incident. His message was brief but pointed. “MMA doesn’t have ‘rules’ anymore. They’re just ‘suggestions’,” he wrote. It was not the first time Aspinall had criticised Dean in recent weeks — the previous weekend he had blamed the referee for Alex Pereira’s loss to Ciryl Gane, arguing that a series of illegal blows went unpunished and influenced the outcome.

Pereira himself, who has been the most vocal and persistent critic of Dean’s officiating, responded to the growing chorus of support with a blunt comment: “Herb Dean is a coward.”

The cluster of complaints across three consecutive UFC events has intensified scrutiny on Dean and, more broadly, on how consistently the sport’s rules are enforced inside the cage. With fighters of Aspinall’s and Pereira’s profile now publicly questioning the integrity of officiating decisions, pressure on the UFC and relevant athletic commissions to respond is likely to grow.