Alex Pereira was not happy to hear Michel Pereira wasn’t offered a new contract with the UFC and has been removed from the promotion’s roster following his UFC Baku loss to Shara Magomedov.
The bout was surrounded by controversy after referee Herb Dean did not deduct points from “Bullet” for holding Pereira’s hair multiple times and poking him in the eye. A point deduction would have meant a draw, since all three judges scored it the same (29-28 Magomedov).
“Poatan”, who had his own issues with Dean for what he considered illegal shots to the back in his UFC White House title bout with Ciryl Gane, took to social media after UFC Baku to call Dean a “coward” for not acting to punish Magomedov. This time, he released a long post to say Pereira’s release is unacceptable given the circumstances.
“They could have sent this guy earlier, and maybe it would have been acceptable,” Pereira wrote. “But paying such a high price because of a refereeing mistake is impossible to accept! The UFC has already done, and continues to do, everything I ask within the organization’s reach. But it’s sad to see this and not be upset. Many athletes don’t say anything, but tomorrow it could be you going through this kind of situation, and there will be no point in sending me a message asking for help. It’s sad that not even the UFC has control over this, and because of that, our sport keeps being tarnished.”
Pereira concluded his record joking that his loss to Gane was not on MMA rules, saying he now has a 0-1 record in vale tudo.
“My kickboxing record is 40 fights: 33 wins and 7 losses.
My MMA record is 16 fights: 13 wins and 3 losses.
My Vale Tudo record is 1 fight and 1 loss.”
Michel Pereira issued a short statement following his departure from the UFC roster, but took a different approach.
“I have nothing but gratitude in my heart for the UFC,” wrote Pereira, who was victorious in 10 of his 16 octagon appearances. “Everything I have and have achieved came through the UFC.”
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