Ciryl Gane Defeats Alex Pereira by Second-Round TKO at UFC Freedom 250

Alex Pereira lost to Ciryl Gane by TKO in the second round at UFC Freedom 250, ending his attempt to become the first UFC three-division champion. CBS Sports reported that Gane stopped Pereira early in Round 2 after a stiff jab dropped him. Gane then delivered ground strikes, several of which appeared to strike the back of the head, before finishing Pereira on the feet.

Pereira said the jab that dropped him was legal. "It was a lucky jab," he said in a YouTube video. " He added that Gane was "desperate" and threw a shot he did not believe in to finish the fight. Pereira said he had warned referee Herb Dean before the fight about strikes to the back of the head.

Plino Cruz served as interpreter during the rules meeting. "The referee who was working my fight called his colleague over, another referee," Pereira said. " Sean O'Malley said he was in the training room with Pereira when the fighter discussed potential illegal strikes.

"You know what's funny, in the rules meeting when Pereira was talking to the ref," O'Malley said. " Pereira said the illegal strikes prevented him from recovering. "I was getting up, and it became difficult to recover," he said.

He added that a referee standing nearby should have seen the strikes. "A punch to the back of the head -- you're right there, man. " The Unified Rules of MMA ban strikes to the back of the head and spine.

The illegal target zone is defined as the area starting at the crown of the head and running directly down the centerline with a one-inch variance to each side. Pereira said Dean failed to protect the fighters. "He is not a man.

He shouldn't have been refereeing that fight," he said. "To be honest, a guy like that should be punished. It's a very serious job and a very serious event. What happened? " Pereira called for fighters to act together against repeated referee errors.