Two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira is going to make his heavyweight debut on June 14 at the White House, where he will take on Ciryl Gane for the interim 265-pound championship.
Pereira becomes the first fighter in the promotion’s history to attempt to win titles in three different weight divisions. After vacating his light heavyweight title earlier this year, he has been bulking up for his move up, and he admits that adding the extra weight has, for sure, cost him some speed. Despite that, Pereira says he feels the same. In a recent clip, he said:
“I feel the exact same. Obviously, it’s not possible to bulk up to a much higher weight class, bigger, and not lose maybe a little bit of speed. We’ll see in the fight. But I feel the exact same. I just added, but did not lose anything.”
Check out Alex Pereira’s comments below:
Michael Bisping and Tom Aspinall on Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane
Many in the MMA community believe this will be the hardest fight for the Brazilian to date. Even heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall recently opined that “Bon Gamin” will defeat “Poatan” by decision, as “Gane is a massive heavyweight who moves a lot, moves really, really well, is really fluid on his feet.”
Check out Tom Aspinall’s comments below:
Meanwhile, after watching Pereira’s latest sparring clip with Tallison Teixeira, Michael Bisping added that Ciryl Gane will have a clear speed advantage against “Poatan.”
“Ciryl Gane is going to have the speed advantage. He’s also going to be lighter on the feet.”
Check out Michael Bisping’s comments below (3:21):
Gane will also have a two-inch reach advantage over “Poatan” on June 14, and, reportedly, this is the longest reach the latter has ever faced in the UFC. [Stat courtesy of @DovySimuMMA on X].