Herb Dean defends his UFC White House calls, insisting Gane's punches were legal

Referee Herb Dean has rejected Alex Pereira’s claim that illegal blows cost him the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House, insisting that Ciryl Gane’s strikes during their second-round finish were entirely within the rules.

Gane stopped Pereira in the second round of their co-main event bout last Sunday, but the finish was immediately clouded by controversy. After dropping Pereira, Gane unleashed a flurry of punches that many observers — including Pereira himself — felt landed at the back of the head, an illegal target under MMA rules. Pereira released a statement on Tuesday blaming Dean for failing to intervene and called on the UFC to make an example of the veteran official.

Dean responded the same day via Instagram, offering a detailed breakdown of how the back-of-the-head rule is actually applied in MMA competition. His explanation centred on a distinction that often goes unacknowledged in public debate: the rule targets the nape of the neck — the occipital junction — rather than the broader rear of the skull.

“The rule we’re talking about is the back of the head rule, and that’s confusing, because it’s different than boxing,” Dean said. “The way we enforce this rule is we focus on the nape of the neck. The nape of the neck, or occipital junction, covers the spine and covers a line with one-inch variance to either side. This is what we go over in the rules meeting.”

Dean went on to demonstrate the distinction physically, clarifying that strikes landing to the sides and rear of the head — above and away from the nape — are considered legal blows, while contact directly over the spine and occipital junction constitutes a foul. By his assessment, Gane’s punches fell into the former category.

“Hopefully that’s useful to you guys, and clears things up,” Dean added.

The fight itself was not Gane’s first brush with controversy in recent bouts. His previous outing against Tom Aspinall was marked by eye-poke concerns, though no such issues arose at UFC White House. Pereira, a two-division UFC champion, had not previously lost by stoppage at heavyweight, making the defeat and its circumstances all the more charged.

Dean’s clarification is unlikely to fully satisfy Pereira’s camp, but it does provide a clear account of the officiating standard applied on the night — and why, in Dean’s view, no deduction or stoppage was warranted.