Poatan blasts referee after knockout at White House UFC: "Coward"
Alex Poatan broke his silence this Tuesday (16) and harshly criticized referee Herb Dean after his defeat to Ciryl Gane at UFC Casa Branca. In a video published on his YouTube channel, the Brazilian stated that he suffered illegal blows to the back of the head during the sequence that resulted in his technical knockout and classified the veteran referee's performance as "cowardly".
Poatan also released images of marks and swelling on the back of the head to support the accusation. According to him, the refereeing ignored infractions that would have been decisive for the outcome of the fight valid for the interim heavyweight belt.
"With the jab, I fell, got stuck in the legs, he was throwing elbows, punches, he wanted to end the fight anyway. But he always does that. Finger in the eye, kick in the bag, sometimes it happens. Punch in the back of the head, you have to see it. And that was the opportunity of his life. The referee is there to see it", he said.
The Brazilian also revealed that he had warned Herb Dean about Gane's history even before the fight.
"I told him that Gane had a bad history, I got worried, I got ahead of myself. The referee called his partner and showed him on the back of the head where he can hit. The jab, great, but all these irregular blows, it's difficult to recover", he said.
Poatan maintained that he would hardly have been placed in a dangerous situation without the scams that he considers illegal.
"I believe that if it weren't for those punches, I would hardly be in that situation. Or maybe not, they were very strong blows, but illegal. It's difficult to prepare, get there, and have a guy who is just there for that. It's difficult, I put myself in the referee's place. He sees it and thinks: how am I going to stop this fight? But it's wrong, irregular, it's the rule", he declared.
The most scathing criticism was directed at Herb Dean. The former middleweight and light heavyweight champion defended punishment of the referee and questioned his stance during the fight.
"He shouldn't be refereeing that fight, he should be punished, he should be held accountable. He's there for that, he wins for that. A guy like that, his friends, if he has a son, a nephew, I'm sure they look at him and think: 'coward'. He was a coward", he said.
According to the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, adopted by the UFC, blows to the back of the head and the back of the head are considered fouls. The regulations, however, also provide that it is up to the referee to assess the intentionality of the action when an originally legal blow ends up reaching a prohibited area due to the opponent's movement.
The controversy gained strength after Tom Aspinall, linear heavyweight champion, also questioned Gane's performance. In a video published after the event, the Englishman stated that he saw "a lot of illegal elbows" and "illegal punches" in the sequence that ended the fight, although he recognized the Frenchman's superiority in the confrontation.
At UFC Casa Branca, held last Sunday (14), Poatan was defeated by technical knockout in the second round and lost the chance to win a third belt in different categories in the organization. Despite criticism of the refereeing, the Brazilian admitted that he felt the power of the blows in his heavyweight debut.
"In the fight, I felt really good. But I hadn't fought at this weight yet. Unfortunately, that hand came in. Punches are stronger at heavyweight, but it was a lucky jab. That's where he started to do well, he took advantage and threw stronger punches", he concluded.
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Source: CNN