For most of his career, Alex Pereira has been the type of fighter who will compete anywhere, anytime, against anyone. But before ‘Poatan’ takes the biggest leap of his career by facing Ciryl Gane at UFC White House on June 14 for the interim heavyweight championship, he’s facing allegations of ducking the current champion, Tom Aspinall, who’s currently on a medical hiatus after Gane eyepoked him at UFC 321.
Talking about Alex Pereira’s next fight against Ciryl Gane at Freedom 250, Tom Aspinall’s long-time teammate and KSW heavyweight champion Phil de Fries revealed that the UFC actually offered ‘Poatan’ a fight against the current 265 lbs champion some time ago. Yet, the Brazilian chose to face the Frenchman, whom Fries believes is a much easier challenge for Pereira than Aspinall.
“I’m pretty sure, you know, Pereira’s been offered Tom and said no. I’m fairly sure that’s a fact,” Fries told BloodyElbow. “You never know, Pereira might take the belt and run away, but I think Pereira sees Gane as an easier fight than Tom. Obviously, I think Tom’s better than Gane, but I’m not saying that because someone’s better, I think it’s just stylistically people match up better. But, that’d be great for Tom.”
For the unaware, Fries and Aspinall have been training together for a while, and the KSW heavyweight champion was part of the Brit’s interim title defense against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. So it’s not a surprise that he’d know some details of his dealings. Still, Fries didn’t clarify when the UFC approached them with the deal. Moreover, neither Pereira nor Aspinall has said anything about the offer, though they have been a dream matchup for fans since the Brazilian’s heavyweight move gained traction.
However, when it comes to Pereira ducking Aspinall, the Brazilian has always remained open to the clash. In fact, in January 2025, ‘Poatan’ told Ariel Helwani that he’d welcome the Brit for a showdown if he were the undisputed champion. The reason Pereira had this condition? Back then, Jon Jones was the undisputed 265lbs champ, and he only wanted to face the undisputed titleholder.
On the other hand, Aspinall has also shown a strong interest in fighting Pereira. Ahead of his UFC 321 clash against Gane, the British star told Sun Sports that the Brazilian intrigues him as a challenge and called him a dangerous opponent. Clearly, the mutual interest has always been there. That said, does ‘Poatan’ actually think the Frenchman is an easier challenge? Well, it might be a little different than what Fries believes.
Pereira himself has previously acknowledged Gane’s danger. Before the Aspinall-Gane fight, he predicted that ‘Bon Gamin’ could be a threat to the Brit in the later rounds. And we saw how the Frenchman was actually winning against Aspinall at UFC 321, up until the eye poke happened. Based on that, would Pereira think Gane is an easier challenge? We don’t know, but the answer would most likely be a ‘no’.
While fans await Pereira’s perspective, former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou believes ‘Bon Gamin’ could actually have an edge in their potential showdown.
Francis Ngannou believes Ciryl Gane will give Alex Pereira problems
As a former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has been a keen observer of what’s going on in the division, and he’s also ecstatic to see Alex Pereira finally moving to the 265 lbs division. Though ‘The Predator’ accepts that the Brazilian will be strong, big, and solid, he also believes Ciryl Gane can pose real threats with his distance striking against ‘Poatan’ at the Freedom 250 card.
“And I think Alex Pereira will be most stable and strong, solid. Ciryl will be more fast moving around, as is his technique,” Ngannou told TMZ. “He’s good at that. And then it’s going to be very difficult for Alex Pereira to even get close to the distance to figure out what he can do. I think he’s a very good matchup for Ciryl.”
Well, Ngannou definitely knows about Gane’s striking prowess, as he felt it firsthand at UFC 270. Despite being one of the most terrifying power punchers in the UFC, the Cameroonian powerhouse had to rely on his wrestling because ‘Bon Gamin’ was too slick on the feet. So, he’s not wrong to point out that Gane could pose problems. If we look closely, the Frenchman has an 81-inch reach, which is a healthy 2-inch advantage against Pereira’s 79.
In that case, the Brazilian would be the one to close the distance. That said, what do you think about Pereira vs Gane? Also, is he actually a lesser threat to ‘Poatan’ than Tom Aspinall?
