Alex Pereira is set to chase an unprecedented third UFC championship when he faces Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday at the White House.
Pereira, a former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion, will move up again with the chance to become a three-division titleholder. The bout with Gane is officially for the interim UFC heavyweight championship.
"It's historical, something unprecedented," Pereira said ahead of the matchup. "It's something that has never been done before. Ever since I got scheduled for this fight, when this fight was announced, I've been envisioning and thinking and seeing everything that I've been through in my life and everything I've been able to accomplish. I'm just happy to do something like this and just accomplish that."
UFC CEO Dana White has stated he would change his pick for greatest fighter of all time to Pereira if the Brazilian wins this fight. Pereira addressed that kind of talk carefully.
"I can't say it because I didn't follow everyone in the sport, the greatest of all time," Pereira said. "People say it. The people who follow the sport, the people who cover the sport have been saying that. There are a lot of different opinions. But there's a guy. Dana is the one who said it. Even so, there are other people who have opinions. Either/or, what people are saying, it's good to belong in that category."
