Joe Rogan defends Ciryl Gane amid UFC Freedom 250 controversy: “It’s not like he’s trying to deliberately”

Joe Rogan doesn’t believe Ciryl Gane purposely landed illegal strikes to the back of Alex Pereira’s head.

Gane became a two-time interim UFC Heavyweight Champion on the White House lawn. He defeated Pereira via second-round TKO, and has now secured a title unification bout against main titleholder Tom Aspinall. “Poatan” expressed his gripes with referee Herb Dean after the fight, as he pointed out being on the receiving end of numerous strikes to the back of the head.

During the latest episode of the “JRE MMA Show,” Rogan said he doesn’t believe Gane landed those questionable strikes intentionally (via MMAJunkie).

“And even like feinting takedowns, it’s not like he committed to those, but he’s got him thinking about it,” Rogan said. “Look how he drops him with the jab. Now here’s the question, because one of the things that Pereira is saying is a lot of – there’s an illegal shot.

“A lot of the shots were illegal and to the back of the head. But a lot of them were to the side of the head, and they’re also moving. It’s a two-inch line down like a mohawk. A couple of those shots definitely landed illegally, but there’s also movement. It’s also movement and chaos. It’s not like he’s trying to deliberately.”

Pereira hasn’t let up in his criticism of Dean’s officiating. He even told Ariel Helwani that he plans to ask athletic commissions to avoid having the veteran referee officiate his fights moving forward. Some notable MMA figures such as UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping have criticized Pereira for doubling down.

Recently, UFC CEO Dana White came to the defense of “Poatan.” White said Pereira has never been known to be a whiner and agrees that some of Gane’s strikes were illegal.

Do you think Alex Pereira is justified in being upset over the officiating in his loss to Ciryl Gane, or do you think the complaining has gone overboard? Sound off in the comments below.