“The back of the head” is a tricky area in MMA, according to
Herb
Dean.
Cyril Gane (14-2) and Alex
Pereira (13-4) clashed for the interim heavyweight title at
UFC White House. Gane hurt Pereira with a jab early in the
second round and swarmed him with punches. As Pereira dropped to
the canvas, Gane landed multiple blows to the back of the head
without any warning from Dean, who was the referee. While Pereira
got back to his feet, Gane finished him soon after with a vicious
flurry.
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Dean has faced severe backlash for allowing Gane’s shots to the
back of Pereira’s head, which have been widely deemed illegal.
Pereira also holds Dean partly accountable for his loss, especially
after emphasizing illegal blows to the back of the head during the
rules meeting before the fight.
Dean has now defended his stance while elaborating on the rule.
According to Dean, the rule should actually be called illegal blows
to “the nape of the neck.” Dean claims the “back of the head”
differs in MMA from boxing. Dean uploaded a video where he details
the parts of the head where striking is off-limits. Dean says the
nape of the neck is completely illegal. Dean also marked a thin
patch on the center of the back of the head, which is illegal, with
an inch variable on each side. According to Dean, blows to the
sides of the back of the head are not illegal.
Dean’s Interpretation
“I can tell by some of the comments online that I owe you guys an
explanation about the rules and how I refereed the fight,” Dean
said on social media. “First of all, all respect to both fighters,
I’m talking about Gane and Pereira. Amazing fight… The rule we’re
talking about is the back of the head. And that’s confusing because
it’s different than boxing. And the way we enforce this rule is, we
focus on the nape of the neck, that’s really what the rule should
be called. The nape of the neck or a typical junction also covers
the spine.”