As a veteran referee, Herb Dean has seen his fair share of controversies throughout his career. But the Alex Pereira fiasco could be the most heated dispute in recent times. After Dean failed to call Ciryl Gane’s back-of-the-head shots against ‘Poatan’ during their UFC White House fight, many voices criticized the veteran referee and his officiating style. However, Charles Oliveira has a slightly different view from the common sentiment.

“In Herb Dean’s case, I think he should have stepped in,” Oliveira told MMA Fighting. “As Poatan said, he took the jab, he took other shots, and there were punches to the back of the head. People asked me, ‘Do you think a punch to the back of the head made a difference?’ I don’t know. I wasn’t in there. What I do know is that several shots landed in a place where they shouldn’t have. Whether that affected the outcome or not, I can’t tell you. But there were definitely illegal strikes. 

“We can’t make it a bigger issue than it is. Herb Dean has refereed several of my fights. He’s always treated me with respect, so I have absolutely no problem with him officiating one of my fights. The reality is that sometimes things happen in the heat of the moment. The angle he had might not have given him the best view. To me, he’s still a great referee.”     

As ‘Do Bronx’ pointed out, officiating can sometimes get overwhelming, especially during high-profile events like UFC White House, where referees can make human errors by missing certain angles while officiating. However, Herb Dean hasn’t actually said he missed any angles during the Ciryl Gane vs. Alex Pereira fight. Instead, the veteran referee justified his officiating by uploading a video and explaining that most of the Frenchman’s punches landed on the outside of the nape of the neck, which is considered legal in MMA.

Even so, Alex Pereira was visibly upset with how Herb Dean officiated his fight against Ciryl Gane and blasted the veteran referee by uploading a video on social media. The former champion also urged the promotion to ban Dean from officiating his fights.

Still, alongside Oliveira, another notable figure in the sport has also defended Herb Dean recently.

Renowned referee John McCarthy, who played a major role in creating the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, also came to Dean’s defense. McCarthy recently appeared on Ariel Helwani’s show and used multiple photos to explain that most of Gane’s shots on Pereira landed just outside the “two-inch strip,” making them legal. However, he also acknowledged that some of the punches did land outside that line.

That said, as the debate over Herb Dean’s officiating during the Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane fight continues, Charles Oliveira further assured that situations like this could serve as a lesson for everyone involved to stay more alert during fights.

“I think situations like this serve as a lesson for other referees, for the UFC, for the commission, for everyone involved,” Oliveira continued. “Whether people like it or not, there was a lot at stake in that fight.”

Now, when it comes to fouls, Oliveira has had his fair share of controversial moments against Michael Chandler. While discussing Dean’s and Pereira’s situation, the former champion also brought that up. 

Charles Oliveira talks about refereeing during the Michael Chandler fight  

At UFC 309, Charles Oliveira faced Michael Chandler in a highly anticipated rematch. For most of the fight, the Brazilian used his wrestling to dominate his opponent. However, Chandler eventually found an opportunity to turn the tide in the final round but ended up landing several illegal shots on Oliveira, including strikes to the back of the head.

Referee Keith Peterson took a close look as Chandler landed those shots on Oliveira, yet he didn’t stop the fight. Because of that, the former lightweight champion eventually recovered and won the bout by decision. Though he won the fight, Oliveira still speculated about what might have happened if Peterson had actually stepped in and stopped the action at that moment.

“I was having a great fight against Michael Chandler, making it look easy against him, sorry for putting it that way, I don’t even like talking like that, and then, in the final round, he hit me with a shot and poked me in the eye,” Oliveira said in the same interview. “I put my hand over my eye, and Chandler started throwing punches. I went down and thought about how many shots I took to the back of the head. Just stop and think about it. If I had lost to Michael Chandler that night, if the referee had stopped the fight, would my career have continued with the same momentum? Would I have gone on the run that I did?”

Well, Charles Oliveira wasn’t happy with how Peterson officiated the bout. At the UFC 309 post-fight press conference, ‘Do Bronx’ stated that he called for the referee to stop Chandler from throwing the illegal shots, but he didn’t get an answer. Still, Oliveira refused to personally criticize Peterson’s officiating, clarifying that he was simply “doing his job” by letting the referee know about the illegal strikes.

Since the Brazilian didn’t directly criticize the referee who poorly officiated his fight, it’s understandable that he also has a more nuanced take while defending Herb Dean from the ongoing criticism.