Charles do Bronx and Alex Poatan are prominent Brazilian fighters in the UFC (Photo: Montage/SUPER LUTAS)
Charles do Bronx revisited a significant episode in his career when commenting on the recent controversies involving Alex Poatan at UFC Casa Branca , held on June 14th. The Pataxó fighter was knocked out in the second round and pointed to illegal strikes from his French opponent, as well as the referee Herb Dean's performance, as determining factors in the defeat. This episode led the 'Blurred Lion' to draw a parallel with a similar situation that almost jeopardized his own career in the octagon.
In an interview with MMA Fighting, Charles recalled that he was having a great performance against Michael Chandler at UFC 309 , even dominating the fight, when, in the last round, he suffered an eye poke. While trying to protect himself, he ended up being pressured with a series of attacks that took him to the ground, including impacts to the back of his head.
See too
“I was having a great fight against Michael Chandler , making it look easy against him, sorry for putting it that way, I don’t even like to talk like that, and then, in the last round, he hit me and poked me in the eye. I put my hand to my eye and Chandler started throwing punches, I fell, and think about how many punches I took to the back of the head. Stop and think about that. If I had lost to Michael Chandler that night, if the referee had stopped the fight, would my career have continued at the same pace? Would I have had the winning streak that I had?”, said Charles do Bronx.
Analyzing Poatan's case, Charles assessed that the former champion reacted correctly after the knockdown, using his legs to defend himself amidst the chaos. However, he pointed out that illegal strikes were delivered during the fight, emphasizing that the situation was evident to anyone watching, regardless of nationality.
“Poatan reacted correctly (after the knockdown), going for the legs to defend himself. Then, in the middle of that chaos, not because he's Brazilian, but the whole world saw it and it was obvious, some blows hit the back of his head when they shouldn't have,” concluded the Brazilian.
Poatan blamed Herb Dean for his loss at UFC White House.
After a lukewarm first round, with a slight advantage for Ciryl Gane , Alex Poatan returned for the second round determined to finish the fight. However, right at the start, he was surprised by a strong jab that knocked him down. Following that, the Frenchman delivered a series of ground strikes that, in the Brazilian's view, hit the back of his neck and compromised his stamina before the knockout, which came seconds later.
After the fight, Poatan attributed the negative result to referee Herb Dean's performance, claiming that the referee neither stopped the fight nor warned Gane about the blows considered illegal.
Recent controversies involving Herb Dean in the UFC
H. Dean is one of the best-known referees in MMA. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @herbdeanmma
In the co-main event of UFC Casa Branca , Alex Poatan was knocked out in the second round after a series of blows that he himself classified as illegal , blaming the referee for the negative result.
The following week, at UFC Vegas 119 , held on June 20th, Herb Dean also officiated the fight between Vinicius Lokdog and Andre Fili , which ended with further complaints involving illegal strikes.
Now, following accusations of hair pulling, neck slaps, and eye pokes by Shara Magomedov against Michel Pereira , the referee has once again become the target of criticism.
Exclusive: Michael PQD talks about his brutal UFC debut victory.
Comments