Veteran UFC featherweight Andre Fili has become the latest fighter to be upset at referee Herb Dean for getting hit in the back of the head.
Last week at UFC Freedom 250, heavyweight Alex Pereira felt that Dean missed illegal back-of-the-head strikes by Ciryl Gane that led to him getting finished in the UFC interim heavyweight title fight.
Pereira went after Dean in several interviews after the fight, though Dean defended himself, posting an Instagram video where he explained the back-of-the-head rule in further detail.
Less than a week later, Fili is now the second fighter in six days to be upset at Dean for missing what he believes were illegal strikes to the back of his head committed by Vinicius Oliveira in Fili’s TKO loss at UFC Vegas 119.
Andre Fili Upset at Herb Dean
Speaking on a video posted to his Instagram stories, Fili expressed how frustrated he was with Dean not calling Oliveira for illegal strikes to the back of his head.
“Lots of arguing in the comments. Lots of people hitting me up about the shots last night to the back of the head. I’m very frustrated because it was an illegal shot that started the end of the fight for me. Everything else before that was covering up, I was intelligently defending myself, I was firing back, I was weathering the storm, and I knew he’d be exhausted after that. I’m not especially happy that Herb let those go. I’m not especially happy that he let two or three of them go,” Fili said.
“But also, Herb has a tough job. Everyone in that cage has a tough job and they’re doing their best. At the end of the day, I shouldn’t have been in the position to get elbowed in the back of the head. It’s on me. I (expletive) up. I’m going to fix it. I’m going to come back better. It’s Father’s Day. I’m going to sip this delicious coffee and Thank God for this life that I have. I appreciate all of you guys, I love you, and I hope that you have a great day.”
Andre Fili Won $100,000 Fight of the Night Bonus
Though Fili lost the fight to Oliveira, he did take home a $100,000 bonus for Fight of the Night. Of course, Fili would have rather won the fight, but the fact that he got a 100k bonus check for FOTN the day before Father’s Day certainly lessens the blow.
In Fili’s 27-fight UFC career, he has now won four post-fight bonuses. It’s also worth noting that Fili had never lost two fights in a row in his entire MMA career before this loss to Oliveira and his split decision loss to Jose Miguel Delgado in his fight before that.
Despite the two losses, Fili has remained very competitive at age 35 against young, up-and-coming killers like Delgado and Oliveira. Look for the veteran to take some time off after the war with Oliveira and return later this year for another banger of a fight.
Andre FIli Frustrated at Herb Dean Over Back-of-the-Head Strikes