Ultimate Fighting Championship champs share their differing
thoughts on how Sunday’s co-main event will go.
Despite sitting in the second-to-last slot on the
UFC White House event on Sunday, the duel between Brazilian
Alex
Pereira and Frenchman Ciryl Gane
for the interim UFC heavyweight title has generated as much if not
more debate than the main event. between American Justin
Gaethje and Spaniard Ilia
Topuria. One of the reasons for this is Ilia
Topuria’s status as a massive betting favorite over Justin
Gaethje while ‘Poatan’ and Gane currently see odds that are
dead even.
In the opinion of former UFC heavyweight champions, Fabricio
Werdum and Junior dos
Santos, the confrontation could become a closely contested
affair between two great strikers, but the Brazilian’s game plan
will make the difference. With the experience of having faced Gane
in his last UFC fight, at UFC 256 in 2020 when he was stopped with
elbow strikes, dos Santos believes that Pereira’s aggressiveness
and KO power will be a key point.
“I think [Pereira’s] style will complicate [Gane],” “Cigano”
mentioned. “Alex goes on the offensive mode all the time and always
cutting angles, circling and gradually breaking down his opponents.
Gane moves well backwards, but once ‘Poatan’ cuts angles very well,
they must collide, and when it happens, ‘Poatan’ has the advantage
of having one-punch knockout power. There couldn’t have been a
better debut fight in heavyweight for ‘Poatan.’ I believe he will
win and make history by being the first athlete to be champion in
three different divisions.”
“Gane has a small heart”
Werdum generally agrees with JDS that Pereira will get the win in
Sunday, but sees a different path for “Poatan” to prevail. In
Werdum’s opinion, Francis
Ngannou and Jon Jones
exposed the Frenchman’s weak point.
“They are both great strikers, if ‘Poatan’ decides to exchange
punches it can be a chess match with Ciryl having more chances to
surprise,” Werdum analyzed. “I saw ‘Poatan’ training on the ground
with Glover
[Teixeira] and he clearly evolved his ground skills, so in my
opinion he should expose Ciryl like Ngannou and Jones did. If
‘Poatan’ believes in his jiu-jitsu skills, he will be able to
submit Gane. Besides not having a good ground game, Gane has a
small heart, I realized that in his fight with Jon Jones. He
accepted the defeat, stood still and didn’t even attempt a defense
when the guillotine choke wasn’t even locked in. ‘Poatan’ can win
standing up, but if he takes Gane to the ground, he will make it
easier.”