Alex Pereira broke his silence and called Ciryl Gane “dirty” after he lost by knockout in their heavyweight bout at UFC Freedom 250.
Gane knocked out Pereira in the second round of their interim UFC heavyweight title bout at the White House. After winning the first round with more effective striking, Gane dropped Pereira with a jab in the second round and then followed it up with huge shots while Pereira was on the ground.
Some of the strikes appeared to hit the back of Pereira’s head, but referee Herb Dean did not warn Gane or deduct any points. Though Pereira was somehow able to get back to his feet, Gane finished him off with big punches soon afterwards to become the new interim UFC heavyweight champion.
But according to Pereira, the win has an asterisk next to it, due to what he believes were “dirty” cheap shots from Gane.
Alex Pereira Blasts Ciryl Gane After UFC Freedom 250
Taking to his YouTube two days after he lost to Gane, Pereira blasted his rival, saying that he landed “dirty shots” on the back of his head, while noting Gane has a history of landing illegal strikes in his fights.
“It was a lucky jab and he took advantage… that was the opportunity of a lifetime for him. This guy has a long history of it. Dirty shots, punches to the back of the head. I brought that up with (the referee) ahead of time and asked him to keep an eye on it… if you watch the footage man, multiple shots, multiple elbows (to the back of the head). (The referee) is not a man. He shouldn’t have been refereeing that fight. A guy like that should be punished,” Pereira said.
This is, of course, not the first time that Gane has been accused of landing illegal shots in his fights.
Against Tom Aspinall last year at UFC 321, Gane poked Aspinall in the eye, leading to a No Contest. Now that he’s won the interim belt, Gane is expected to rematch Aspinall in a grudge match for the undisputed UFC heavyweight title later this year.
There was also a fight between Gane and Junior dos Santos in 2020, where Gane appeared to land an illegal elbow to the back of Dos Santos’ head before he finished him by TKO. But although dos Santos appealed the outcome of that bout, the loss stood, and Gane won by knockout.
What’s Next for Alex Pereira?
Despite Pereira’s protests, he will not be getting a rematch with Gane, since the Frenchman is going to fight Aspinall next for the undisputed UFC heavyweight title.
As for Pereira, it will be interesting to see if he decides to stay at heavyweight or if he goes back to light heavyweight. If he stays at heavyweight, then a matchup against Josh Hokit would be interesting. But if he decides to go back to light heavyweight, he could potentially get an immediate title shot against new UFC light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg. Ultimately, it will be his choice what he decides to do next, but either way, the loss to Gane is going to stand despite his protestations.
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