Andy
Foster believes Herb Dean made
the right call in the Ciryl Gane
vs. Alex
Pereira bout.

The California State Athletic Commission executive director
defended Dean’s handling of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship interim title bout between Gane
and Pereira. The
UFC Freedom 250 co-headliner ended in a technical knockout
victory for the Frenchman, but Pereira subsequently pointed out
that illegal back-of-the-head shots were pivotal in the finishing
sequence.

CSAC official says other referees would've done the same as
Herb Dean at UFC Freedom 250

Dean has faced immense scrutiny in recent weeks after Pereira
accused him of mishandling his loss to Gane. The spotlight has been
firmly on the veteran referee since the White House event, with
fans and fighters pointing out alleged errors in his past and
recent outings.

Pereira argues that Dean should have intervened after Gane landed
multiple punches to the back of his head before the finish.
However, Foster believes that the right call was made, claiming
that other high-profile referees would've also let the bout
continue.

“That looked like a normal fight to me,†Foster told MMA Fighting.
“There was no doubt a few of them got through and hit [the back of
the head]. The question is what do you do in that situation? Do you
stop the action? I don't think many referees would have, if any,
certainly at the high level.â€

Foster believes Dean handled the situation appropriately.

“I told Herb, in my view, you don't want to warn a lot of
times.â€

Foster then explained that halting the action for the fouls could
have unfairly altered the outcome by allowing Pereira time to
recover after being rocked with a legal shot.

“That's the dilemma,†Foster said. “So, what do you do? That is
exactly Herb's dilemma, and I think it's worse if he stops it.â€

He further added that the criticism aimed at Dean was excessive and
reiterated his full confidence in the longtime official.

“I think Herb Dean's a good referee,†Foster added. “You'll see
Herb Dean on the main event of my upcoming UFCs because Herb Dean
is the senior referee in California. Herb Dean has my full
confidence.â€

CSAC executive director Andy Foster
responds to complaints about Herb Dean after
Ciryl
Gane’s controversial win over Alex
Pereira at
#UFCWhiteHouse:

“I think Herb Dean's a
good referee. … Herb Dean has
my full confidence.”

(🎥 @DamonMartin)
pic.twitter.com/NjHQYAa4tj

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting)
July 22, 2026

Tom
Aspinall says recovering from multiple eye surgeries was more
painful than anything he has experienced, including a
vasectomy.

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king discussed the
aftermath of his bout against Ciryl Gane
during a recent podcast appearance, where he revealed the extent of
pain and inconvenience he faced due to his eye surgeries.

Tom Aspinall's eye surgeries and Ciryl Gane fight aftermath
explained

Aspinall’s UFC
321 bout against Gane ended in a no contest after multiple
accidental eye pokes left the heavyweight champion unable to
continue.

“I've had three [eye] surgeries,†Aspinall said on the “Great
Company with Jamie Lang†podcast. “I had one on the left and two on
the right. By the way, I've had the snip, right? I've had a
vasectomy, and I was thinking that has got to be the worst surgery
ever. Mate, compared to eye surgery, it is nothing. Honestly.â€

Aspinall further revealed that he had to remain awake while doctors
operated on his eyes.

“It's f*cking horrendous,†he recalled. “They kept me awake. They
put something on to keep your eyeball open… they numb your eye…
and they're coming at you with a scalpel or knife, whatever it's
called, and you're just watching them slice your eyeball open. It
was horrendous.â€

Aspinall admitted that his biggest concern immediately after the
fight was whether the damage would have long-term consequences.

“At first, I was super scared about it, to be honest,†Aspinall
said, noting that he initially feared the damage to his eye could
be permanent. “Especially the first two weeks. Yeah, I was really
scared about it.â€

The Brit then addressed the backlash he faced from fans for the
anticlimactic ending to the bout after many accused him of wanting
out of the fight following a strong start from Gane.

“If you're going to sit behind your phone and comment on the
toughness of a professional MMA fighter, then you don't really know
what you're talking about.â€

Aspinall has since revealed that he's ready to return to action,
with a rematch against interim champion Gane expected to go down
later this year.

Islam
Makhachev is leaving no stone unturned in preparation for his
first welterweight title defense, roping in fighters with a similar
build to Ian
Garry.

Makhachev is scheduled to put his
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title on the line
against Garry in the main event of UFC
330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The
Russian has reportedly brought in Alvarez from Spain to help him
get familiar with his upcoming Irish foe's frame.

Joel Alvarez helps Islam Makhachev prepare for Ian Garry's
height, range and distance game

While Makhachev is a heavy favorite going into UFC 330, a lot has
been made of Garry's defensive savviness and distance management.
Alvarez stands at 6-foot-2 and is also adept at fighting at a
distance and using his range as an advantage, which is likely why
he's been summoned to assist Makhachev. The Dagestani's teammate,

Professional Fighters League champion Usman
Nurmagomedov, has also been mimicking Garry ahead of UFC
330.

The former lightweight champion and current No.1 pound-for-pound
fighter previously praised Alvarez after his knockout win over
Thiago
Moises in 2021 and the Spaniard subsequently expressed
gratitude while revealing that he and his training partner would
role-play Makhachev and Khabib
Nurmagomedov during sparring.

Alvarez is 8-3 in the UFC with all of his losses coming against
elite opponents. The 33-year-old is coming off a submission defeat
to Yaroslav
Amosov at
UFC 328 this past May that snapped a four-fight winning
streak.

Alvarez's jiu jitsu coach, Tito Beltran, revealed the news on
Instagram while announcing that “El Fenomeno” won't be available
for a camp in August in Valencia, Spain.