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Alex Pereira will not be returning to the light heavyweight division after failing to secure the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House on June 14th. Instead, he is setting his sights on a rematch with Ciryl Gane.
Immediately following the bout, "Poatan" was asked by Joe Rogan whether he would remain in the heavyweight division or return to the 205-pound category where he was champion. At the time, he didn't give a clear answer. That changed on Wednesday when he informed fellow UFC fighter Renato Moicano that a decision had been made.
"I'm 100% staying at heavyweight," Pereira stated. "Honestly, my preparation went very well. Many people talk about the weight, but I've always been a big guy. Some say, 'Poatan wasn't prepared, he can't take a punch, he got dropped by a jab.' How can people be so foolish and only see the jab? Nobody says, 'Damn, he took a serious beating and stayed in the fight.' Ciryl Gane was already a heavyweight, accustomed to that weight. Nobody points out, 'After that jab, he took so many shots – to the back of the head, illegal blows – and managed to get up and keep fighting.' They only see the jab. What about all the punches I absorbed?"
"I wasn't tired," Pereira insisted. "I went back to the corner and clearly heard Glover Teixeira and Plinio Cruz. I didn't even sit down. I was calm. I felt good. You know why? Because my strategy wasn't to expend a lot of energy or throw many punches. The idea was to use the first round to gauge him, and then start increasing the pace. But unfortunately, I got hit. Usually, when I get hit, I pull my head back, but for that, my feet need to be firmly planted. When you're stepping, you can't do it. I tried to step forward a bit more so I could land heavier shots, but there wasn't enough time. He landed the jab and then capitalized on the situation to land illegal blows, and the referee allowed it."
On his YouTube channel, Pereira sharply criticized referee Herb Dean for allowing the fight to continue despite Gane's illegal blows to the back of his head. He told Moicano that the veteran referee should be fired by the athletic commission. "Poatan" even stated he would refuse to fight if Dean were assigned as the referee for any future match of his.
Regarding his next step in the UFC, Pereira shared that he has no concussion or injuries and hopes to return to the octagon as soon as he receives medical clearance. The former two-division champion revealed he requested an immediate rematch from the UFC backstage at the White House event, but the organization did not give him a clear answer.
Gane currently holds the interim belt and has called for a title unification bout against Tom Aspinall at the Paris event in September, a challenge the Englishman has accepted.
"I'm staying at heavyweight and I'm definitely focused on the title," Pereira affirmed. "In that fight, that lucky punch – I'd call it a lucky punch, Gane closed his eyes when he threw the jab. But I will definitely be chasing the belt. It's with him now. I don't know if Aspinall will return or when he will return. It seems he's already said something about it."
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