Former UFC heavyweight champ backs Alex Pereira to stop Ciryl Gane: “He’s gonna knock Gane out”
Former UFC heavyweight king Junior dos Santos picks Alex Pereira to knock out Ciryl Gane in the Brazilian’s heavyweight debut. The former UFC heavyweight champion shared his view during a recent interview with Ariel Helwani.
Dos Santos faces Robelis Despaigne this weekend on the Most Valuable Promotions card streaming live on Netflix from Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Despaigne took bronze in taekwondo at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a 5-2 MMA record. Dos Santos carries a 21-10 pro mark, including nine UFC wins during his title run from 2011 to 2012. Their heavyweight bout sits on the undercard below Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano.
Former UFC heavyweight champ sees knockout in Alex Pereira’s heavyweight debut: “It’s a great fight for him”
The prediction targets the co-main event at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 at the White House South Lawn in Washington, D.C. Ilia Topuria faces Justin Gaethje in the lightweight title unification main event.
Pereira vacated his light heavyweight belt to chase interim heavyweight gold against Gane, aiming to become the first three-division UFC champion. Pereira enters at 13-3 with 10 knockouts, fresh off a first-round stoppage of Magomed Ankalaev. Gane stands 13-2 with one no-contest, including six knockouts; he last fought Pereira’s upcoming foe in a 2020 no-contest due to an eye poke.
Dos Santos sees a style edge for Pereira. He told Helwani: “I think he’s gonna do very well, actually, especially in this debut against Gane. I think it’s a great fight for him because of his style. At some point, he’s gonna knock Gane out in his heavyweight debut.” Dos Santos added that no better matchup exists for Pereira’s first heavyweight test. Gane brings speed and skill, but lacks one-punch power while Pereira presses forward, cuts angles, and lands heavy shots.
Pereira started in UFC middleweight, won gold there, then claimed light heavyweight twice before the move up. Gane eyes a second interim title after his prior run behind Francis Ngannou. Heavyweight king Tom Aspinall sits out with an eye injury; the winner here gets next at unification. Other Freedom 250 bouts include Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi at bantamweight, Michael Chandler vs. Mauricio Ruffy at lightweight, Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus at middleweight, and Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia at featherweight.
Dos Santos knows Gane from their own 2020 clash that ended early via eye poke. He carries no grudge but spots Pereira’s path to victory clear. The White House card marks UFC’s tie-in to America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
