Pereira chases historic third UFC title against Gane at White House event

Alex Pereira steps into the heavyweight division this Sunday at UFC White House, where a victory over Ciryl Gane in the co-main event would make him the first fighter in UFC history to win titles across three different weight classes.

UFC CEO Dana White has said that if Pereira gets the job done, the Brazilian would leapfrog Jon Jones in the all-time great conversation — a statement that carries considerable weight given Jones’s own legacy at light heavyweight and heavyweight. Yet Pereira himself is characteristically unmoved by the magnitude of what is on the line.

“I think everything that I achieved has its own importance,” Pereira told MMA Fighting through a translator. “For an example, when I defeated Adesanya, like I say, it was a very important moment to me. [This opportunity] is a huge moment too, to being present and winning the third belt. So it would not be fair for me to just say that this is the most [significant] versus the other ones. I think everything that I’ve been building has been very important to me.”

The card was announced during the UFC 326 broadcast in March, with Ilia Topuria facing Justin Gaethje in the main event. Pereira’s path to the co-main slot was less straightforward than it appeared. Rumours had circulated that he might face Jon Jones at the event, and Pereira revealed the final matchup came as a surprise even to him.

“I found out the same way that everybody else found out,” he said. “I renegotiated my contract for eight fights before that, then negotiating that, I expressed my intention [that] I wanted to fight at the White House. They said it might not happen, and I went, signed a contract deal, the fight deal, and I told them, ‘Whatever you guys want to do, I’m fine.’ And then when they announced, everybody didn’t even know. When everybody else found out, I found out that I was fighting at the White House too.”

The interim title is on the line because heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall remains sidelined with an eye injury sustained during his title defence against Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi last October. Gane landed an accidental eye poke early in that contest, leaving Aspinall unable to continue and the bout declared a no-contest.

Asked for his read on that brief exchange, Pereira was measured. “It’s hard to have a take on that fight cause things happened early,” he said. “But [it] had the thing that happen, the eye poke that is unfortunate to have happened. Unfortunate things happen, but look at the fight — both are strong, both talented.”

A win over Gane would set up a unification bout with Aspinall once the champion recovers, adding yet another chapter to one of the most remarkable title runs in UFC history.