Alex Pereira: the UFC "manipulated" fans to stop my Gane rematch

Alex Pereira says the UFC "manipulated" fans to keep him away from a rematch with Ciryl Gane, and he is pointing at Daniel Cormier too.

HOW WE GOT HERE

In June, Pereira moved up to heavyweight and fought Gane for the interim title at UFC Freedom 250. Gane stopped him in the second round. Pereira has said again and again that Gane landed illegal punches to the back of his head.

Then Tom Aspinall gave up the heavyweight belt, and Gane was made the undisputed champion. Pereira wanted the rematch straight away. Instead, the UFC gave the title shot to unbeaten Josh Hokit, who has only four UFC fights. Gane vs Hokit headlines UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden on November 14.

PEREIRA: "IT'S ALL KIND OF MANIPULATED"

Pereira says the UFC first claimed a fan poll showed people wanted Gane vs Hokit. "At first, the UFC said they did a poll, and that this will be the fight," he said. "It's all kind of manipulated."

He also says Cormier was calling Gane vs Hokit a good fight before it was even announced, and believes it was a planned push to make fans accept it. Pereira says he once asked Cormier if beating Gane would have made him champion, and Cormier said he didn't think so. Cormier tells it differently: he says they were talking about whether Pereira would be the greatest of all time.

DANA WHITE: "JUST A TIMING ISSUE"

Dana White says money has nothing to do with it. "We make fights based on who is the best in the world, who deserves to be there," he said. White points to Pereira's loss to Gane as the reason Hokit got the shot, and says Pereira has not been pushed down the line. It is "just a timing issue."

WHAT'S NEXT

Pereira, now 39, fights Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 in Las Vegas on December 12. Pavlovich has won three in a row. A win could put Pereira next in line for the winner of Gane vs Hokit.

THE RECORDS

Ciryl Gane (14-2, 1 NC) is the UFC heavyweight champion. Josh Hokit (10-0) has never lost. Alex Pereira (13-4) is a former two-division champion. Sergei Pavlovich (21-3) last lost to Tom Aspinall in 2023.

Did Hokit earn this title shot, or should Pereira have got the rematch? Tell us in the FightRec live chat.