Chael Sonnen questions lack of action on illegal strikes in Ciryl Gane vs. Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250

Ciryl Gane has lately earned praise from Chael Sonnen, not only for his incredible win over Alex Pereira but also for his underrated skill set. 

Nevertheless, Sonnen has also suggested that Gane's victory may have been aided by what many believe were illegal strikes that he used against Pereira. 

Ciryl Gane dashed Alex Pereira's three-division champion dream at UFC Freedom 250

Brazil's Alex Pereira captured the middleweight and light heavyweight titles in Glory Kickboxing as well as in the UFC MMA organization. "Poatan" later asserted that he'll pursue the UFC heavyweight title, winning which would make him the first-ever three-division UFC champion. 

He entered last Sunday's co-headlining match of UFC Freedom 250 against France's Ciryl Gane, who'd previously held the interim UFC heavyweight belt. "Bon Gamin" seemed to have a speed advantage in their fight and dropped Pereira with a jab. 

Gane followed up with elbow strikes, some of which appeared to hit the back of Pereira's head. Ultimately, he finished Pereira via second-round TKO and captured the interim UFC heavyweight championship that was at stake in the fight. 

Chael Sonnen questions lack of consequences of allegedly illegal strikes used by Ciryl Gane against Alex Pereira

Certain sections of the combat sports community, including Alex Pereira himself, criticized Referee Herb Dean for not penalizing Ciryl Gane for the apparent shots to the back of the head.

Pereira initially suggested that he'd file an official appeal against the loss. However, he later affirmed that he'd simply like a rematch against Gane under fair circumstances without illegal strikes. 

On the contrary, Herb Dean took to social media to defend himself, particularly explaining that the MMA rule, which states that back-of-the-head strikes are illegal, may be worded somewhat ambiguously.

Dean indicated that, in actuality, the rule intends to forbid fighters from hitting an opponent on the nape of their neck, the spine, and on a line running through the back of the opponent's head (with an inch of distance on either side). 

Taking to his official YouTube channel, MMA fighter-turned-analyst and ex-UFC star Chael Sonnen recently alluded that some of Gane's past opponents have also complained about him using illegal strikes. 

"The American Gangster" cited Gane's alleged usage of back-of-the-head shots in a TKO win against ex-UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos a few years back.

Also, reigning UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall's latest octagon outing saw him get eye-poked by Gane last October, resulting in their fight ending in an NC (No Contest).

Currently, Gane is expected to fight Aspinall in a title unifier, a rematch next. But it's unclear as to when Aspinall can return, owing to the eye injuries Gane inflicted on him. 

Addressing Gane's victory over Pereira, Sonnen stated, "Our sitting heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, said that those strikes were illegal. A former champion in Junior dos Santos, who was an opponent of Ciryl, said those strikes are illegal." 

He continued, "Ciryl used illegal elbows, and everybody that saw it sees that these elbows are illegal... If we do have this on video -- and an illegal technique was missed -- whose fault was that?" 

Highlighting the public discourse that the back-of-the-head strikes were utilized by Gane multiple times against Pereira and directly affected the fight, Sonnen questioned why no concrete action has been taken yet. 

As of this time, the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports hasn't altered the Gane-Pereira fight's verdict. Ergo, Gane's TKO win over Pereira is valid despite the widespread outrage and accusations about the supposedly illegal strikes. 

Sonnen said, "So how come nothing is being done? How come it doesn't warrant review? If it did warrant review, what do you think a just outcome would be?" 

The American combat sports expert added, "Does it negate the win? Does it make it a disqualification? In the event of disqualification, unlike in professional wrestling, a title can, in fact, change hands." 

 

Watch Chael Sonnen discuss the inaction of the authorities in relation to the allegedly illegal strikes in Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane below: