Alex Pereira is famous for speaking his mind. However, his latest move is entirely unprecedented for a UFC champion. Instead of just posting his frustrations on social media, Pereira launched a formal public petition demanding that the UFC permanently ban referee Herb Dean.
Following his second-round TKO loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250, which ruined his chance to become the first three-division champion in UFC history, he could not stay calm for long.
From the start, he has argued that the loss was a direct result of a referee error, claiming it completely altered the outcome of the fight. This latest petition represents his most aggressive pushback yet against the controversial referee.
Alex Pereira Launches Public Petition Against Referee Herb Dean
Alex isn’t trying to hide his anger. After losing his shot against Ciryl Gane on June 14, he recently launched an official online petition to get referee Herb Dean banned from the UFC for good. And he seems quite serious this time.
The petition text Pereira shared read simply, “Public Petition: Remove Herb Dean! To ban him from officiating UFC fights. Sign now!”
Alex Pereira just posted a petition to get Herb Dean removed from the UFC 😬
“Public Petition: Remove Herb Dean! To ban him from officiating UFC fights. Sign now!”
“#FansWhoWereWronged #EndTheInjustice#UFCPetition” pic.twitter.com/GddMaJroWe
— Fight Basics (@fightbasicz) June 28, 2026
Pereira claims Gane hit him in the back of the head during the knockout sequence. Herb Dean shot back with a video using the rulebook to prove the punches were legal, but Pereira wasn’t buying it and called Dean a coward after UFC Baku.
During the Shara “Bullet” Magomedov vs. Michel Pereira fight, Dean warned Magomedov twice for hair pulling, visited his corner between rounds through a translator to warn that a point deduction was coming. If he had actually deducted a point, the match would have ended in a tie. Instead, Pereira’s friend lost a 29-28 unanimous decision on all three scorecards.
Alex posted the footage and wrote, “Herb Dean coward.” But nobody expected him to take it this seriously or launch a whole petition to get the guy fired.
Alex Pereira–Herb Dean Feud Sends a Bad Signal to Entire UFC Roster
Voices against the referee are coming from every side of the promotion. This is no longer Alex’s own fight now. UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall publicly backed Alex after the Baku controversy, posting, “MMA doesn’t have ‘rules’ anymore. It’s just ‘suggestions.'”
He knocked out champions like Jamahal Hill and Jiří Prochazka on his historic run through two divisions. He is a man who has taken serious punishment throughout his career without ever blaming a referee. This time, he literally seems absolutely pissed off.
The worst part? Alex made the stakes clear after losing to Gane, stating he is honestly afraid to fight again with how things are being handled. His petition probably won’t get Dean fired, since athletic commissions license referees, not the UFC.
But public pressure from elite fighters has historically moved the needle on rule enforcement conversations, and Pereira’s campaign puts Dean’s future high-profile assignments directly under scrutiny.
