Alex Pereira says he feels “the exact same” at 250 pounds before Ciryl Gane clash

Alex Pereira teases imminent UFC return: 'Happy to be back in fight camp'

Two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira is going to make his heavyweight debut on June 14 at the White House, where he will take on Ciryl Gane for the interim 265-pound championship.

Ciryl Gane, Alex Pereira
Tom Aspinall breaks down why Ciryl Gane is a nightmare matchup for Alex Pereira. [Image via UFC]

Pereira becomes the first fighter in the promotion’s history to attempt to win titles in three different weight divisions. After vacating his light heavyweight title earlier this year, he has been bulking up for his move up, and he admits that adding the extra weight has, for sure, cost him some speed. Despite that, Pereira says he feels the same. In a recent clip, he said:

“I feel the exact same. Obviously, it’s not possible to bulk up to a much higher weight class, bigger, and not lose maybe a little bit of speed. We’ll see in the fight. But I feel the exact same. I just added, but did not lose anything.”

Check out Alex Pereira’s comments below:

Michael Bisping and Tom Aspinall on Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane

Many in the MMA community believe this will be the hardest fight for the Brazilian to date. Even heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall recently opined that “Bon Gamin” will defeat “Poatan” by decision, as “Gane is a massive heavyweight who moves a lot, moves really, really well, is really fluid on his feet.”

READ MORE:  Merab Dvalishvili says UFC still hasn’t given timeline for trilogy clash with Petr Yan: "Let’s see when the champion wants to come back"

Check out Tom Aspinall’s comments below:

Meanwhile, after watching Pereira’s latest sparring clip with Tallison Teixeira, Michael Bisping added that Ciryl Gane will have a clear speed advantage against “Poatan.”

“Ciryl Gane is going to have the speed advantage. He’s also going to be lighter on the feet.”

Check out Michael Bisping’s comments below (3:21):

Gane will also have a two-inch reach advantage over “Poatan” on June 14, and, reportedly, this is the longest reach the latter has ever faced in the UFC. [Stat courtesy of @DovySimuMMA on X].

READ MORE:  Paulo Costa says Khamzat Chimaev fight is off, eyes summer return: "He's broke, I think he's done"