Pereira mocks Gane's résumé with 'champion' jab as UFC heavyweight title picture shifts

Alex Pereira has launched a social media broadside at Ciryl Gane, mocking the Frenchman’s UFC résumé just as Gane moves closer to undisputed UFC heavyweight champion status following Tom Aspinall’s title vacancy.

Pereira shared a graphic on Instagram scrutinising Gane’s record, captioning it simply with the word “Champion” and three laughing emojis. The post pointed to Gane’s heavyweight title losses against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones, his disputed rematch victory over Alexander Volkov — which many observers scored in the Russian’s favour — and Pereira’s own defeat to Gane, in which “Poatan” alleges he was on the receiving end of multiple illegal back-of-the-head strikes.

Gane had claimed the interim heavyweight title at UFC 250 by finishing Pereira, and with Aspinall now vacating the undisputed belt due to ongoing medical complications that have further delayed his Octagon return, the Frenchman is set to be elevated to full champion status. That development has removed the unification bout that had been anticipated between Gane and Aspinall.

Despite Pereira’s vocal campaign for a rematch, his path to a title shot appears blocked. Unbeaten American Josh Hokit has emerged as a rumoured next opponent for Gane, and Hokit has been dismissive of Pereira’s chances of getting back into contention. Reacting to a photo of Pereira smiling alongside UFC executive Hunter Campbell, Hokit wrote on X: “That’s the ‘You aren’t fighting for the title but you are still getting 10 million’ smile.”

The exchange underlines the increasingly fractious politics surrounding the UFC heavyweight division. Pereira, a former two-division champion at light heavyweight and middleweight, made a high-profile move to heavyweight but suffered the stoppage loss to Gane in his debut at the weight class. His attempt to leverage that defeat into an immediate rematch now faces a significant obstacle in Hokit, who appears to be positioning himself as the division’s next challenger.