Alex Pereira has demanded an immediate UFC rematch with interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane following his knockout defeat in June. The former two-division champion relies on potential delays in Tom Aspinall’s return to secure another title bout later this year.
The 39-year-old Brazilian stepped up to heavyweight in June aiming to become a three-division champion, but suffered a second-round knockout against Gane on the White House lawn. After taking time away from the sport, Pereira confirmed his return to training and called for a repeat fixture.
Speaking on social media, Pereira stated: “I’m seeing many opinions but I think the fight that makes sense is Ciryl Gane,”
Pereira maintains that foul strikes affected the outcome of their first meeting. He accused the Frenchman of targeting the back of his head during the decisive sequence.
Reflecting on the stoppage, Pereira said: “I believe that if it wasn’t for those shots I could have possibly recovered. Maybe not, but they were very hard shots and illegal. This guy’s desperate. He landed a punch that he couldn’t even believe, then he wanted to end the fight no matter what.”
He further criticized Gane’s conduct in the Octagon: “What’s upset me is I warned him beforehand but the guy doesn’t have the guts. I said ‘look, eye poke, groin strikes, those things can happen, but this guy has a long history of it – dirty shots, throwing punches to the back of the head, elbows’.”
Gane is currently slated to face heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in a unification bout. Aspinall has not competed since October, when his fight against Gane ended early following repeated eye pokes. The British fighter subsequently required multiple surgeries on both eyes. Although cleared to resume training, his official fight date is yet to be scheduled.
Aspinall recently addressed rumors regarding his contract status. He wrote: “I’m not leaving the UFC. I’ve never said I am in any interview and any words that have been taken from others today are simply not true. We are talking with the UFC daily and they will update you guys always,”
If Aspinall remains sidelined for the rest of 2026, UFC officials could grant Pereira his requested rematch.
