Alex Pereira will compete for the interim heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 on June 15. The post discusses Pereira's physical form as he moves up to heavyweight. Comments question what Pereira still lacks to be considered truly great. This marks Pereira's move into a third weight class in the UFC.
Alex Pereira will step up to heavyweight to challenge Ciryl Gane for the interim title at UFC Freedom 250 on June 15, marking the Brazilian's bid to become a champion in a third UFC weight class.
Pereira, known as "Poatan," enters the bout as the reigning light heavyweight champion with a record of 13-4. The 38-year-old Brazilian stands six-foot-four with a 79-inch reach and has built a reputation as one of the sport's most dangerous strikers, landing 5.16 significant strikes per minute at a 62 percent accuracy rate. The move to heavyweight would make him the rare fighter to have held gold in three separate divisions inside the UFC.
Gane, nicknamed "Bon Gamin," is the number-two ranked heavyweight contender out of France and carries a 14-2 record into the contest. The 36-year-old MMA Factory product matches Pereira in height at six-foot-four and holds a notable edge in reach at 81 inches. Gane is among the more technically polished heavyweights in the world, posting 5.29 significant strikes per minute with an impressive 61 percent striking accuracy of his own.
Why it matters
- Pereira is attempting to claim a belt in a third UFC weight class, a feat achieved by very few fighters in the promotion's history
- Gane has been a fixture near the top of the heavyweight rankings and sees this as a chance to reclaim title contention with a gold of his own
- Both fighters are orthodox strikers of near-identical height, setting up a technically intriguing stand-up battle between two of the sport's most accurate heavyweights
- An interim title at heavyweight could set the stage for a future unification fight at the top of the division
