Alex Pereira makes major career annoucement after confirming appeal decision

UFC star Alex Pereira has made a huge announcement about his future after his UFC Freedom 250 defeat to Ciryl Gane.

The Brazilian attempted to become the first fighter to win belts in three divisions – middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight – against Gane, but fell short as the Frenchman secured a second-round knockout.

Gane dropped Pereira with a strong jab before unleashing a barrage of punches and elbows, with many shots landing on the back of his opponent's head, before referee Herb Dean stepped in.

In the days following the White House card, Pereira has called out Dean for his failure to spot what he believes were “illegal” shots.

An image posted on his social media appeared to show bruising and swelling on the back of his head.

Accompanying four photographs of the swelling, Pereira wrote: "This will only change when the fighters fight to remove the referee who makes these kinds of mistakes. Let's prevent this from happening to you! We have the strength to do it. I guarantee it!"

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According to official UFC rules, "strikes to the spine or the back of the head" constitute a foul, which may result in a penalty, with enforcement of the rules at the referee's discretion.

Pereira also took to YouTube to complain about the manner of Gane’s victory, having already raised concerns with Dean ahead of the bout.

"I was getting up. It became difficult to recover," Pereira said.

"I believe that if it wasn't for those shots, I could have possibly recovered. Maybe not, but they were very hard shots and illegal.

"This guy's desperate. He landed a punch that he couldn't even believe, then he wanted to end the fight no matter what."

Touching on what he told Dean ahead of the contest, Pereira added: "What's upset me is I warned him beforehand, but the guy doesn't have the guts.

"I said, 'Look, eye pokes and groin strikes can happen, but this guy has a long history of it – dirty shots, throwing punches to the back of the head and elbows,' so I was worried.”

Dean responded by explaining how UFC referees enforce the sport’s rules.

"The rule we're talking about is the back of the head, which is confusing," he said.

"It's different in boxing, and the way we enforce this rule is by focusing on the nape of the neck, which is really what the rule should be called."

Gane previously came under fire after his fight against UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in 2025, with the bout being ruled a no-contest after the Frenchman poked the Brit in the eyes, leaving him needing surgery.

Aspinall has yet to return to the Octagon.

Pereira confirms UFC future and White House result appeal

Meanwhile, Pereira issued an update on which division he plans to compete in for his upcoming fights, with the Brazilian telling Renato Moicano that he intends to stay at heavyweight despite losing to Gane.

“100 per cent [staying at] heavyweight,” Pereira said. “Honestly, training went really well. A lot of people talk about the weight, but I’ve always been a heavy guy. Some people say, ‘Poatan wasn’t prepared, he can’t take a punch, he got dropped by a jab.’ How can people be so stupid and only see the jab? Nobody says, ‘Damn, he took a beating [and stayed in the fight].’ Ciryl Gane was already a heavyweight, already used to that weight. [They should say], ‘After that jab landed, the guy took so many shots — punches to the back of the head, illegal strikes — and managed to get back up and keep trading with the guy.’ Nobody sees that. They only talk about the jab. But what about all the punches I took?”

Pereira weighed 46.5 pounds more than he did eight months earlier before his move up to heavyweight, but the Brazilian insisted this did not impact his stamina during his latest bout.

“I wasn’t tired,” Pereira said. “I got back to the corner and listened clearly to Glover [Teixeira] and Plinio [Cruz]. I didn’t even sit on the stool. I was relaxed. I was feeling good. You know why? Because my strategy wasn’t to expend a lot of energy or throw a lot of strikes. It was to use the first round to make my reads and then start picking up the pace. But unfortunately, I got hit. Usually, when I get hit, I pull my head back, but I need to have my feet planted on the ground to do that. When you’re stepping, you can’t do it. I tried to step in a little more so I could land the heavier shots, but there wasn’t enough time. The guy landed the jab and then took advantage of the situation [to land illegal strikes], and the referee allowed it.”

The Brazilian's management team have also confirmed they are "looking at all grounds for an appeal."