Pereira demands Gane rematch after 'illegal shots' ended UFC Freedom 250 heavyweight fight

Alex Pereira is targeting a rematch with Ciryl Gane after losing to the Frenchman in their interim heavyweight title fight at UFC Freedom 250, with the former two-division champion insisting the finish was tainted by illegal shots.

Pereira made his intentions clear in an Instagram video, saying the second fight “makes sense” and expressing confidence it will happen. “After much time resting and doing what I needed to do, after much work, after my last fight, many people are talking about who will Alex fight,” Pereira said. “I’m seeing many opinions, but I think the fight that makes sense is Ciryl Gane. That’s the fight. I’m going to work on that and from what I’m seeing, it’s something that’s going to happen. How the last fight ended: there were illegal shots.”

The Brazilian’s push for a rematch comes at a moment when Gane’s originally planned next opponent is unavailable. Tom Aspinall had been set to face Gane in a title-unification bout, but the Englishman’s return to the Octagon has been pushed back. Aspinall’s advisor Eddie Hearn recently confirmed that the heavyweight has yet to be cleared by commissions following multiple eye surgeries, with the injuries stemming from his first fight against Gane.

With Aspinall’s timeline uncertain, Pereira’s campaign for an immediate rematch carries genuine weight in the heavyweight division’s scheduling picture. The controversial nature of the UFC Freedom 250 finish — which took place at the White House in June — has kept the rivalry in the public conversation, and Pereira appears determined to use that unresolved tension as leverage to secure the fight.