Ciryl Gane is back on top of the heavyweight division after stopping Alex Pereira in the UFC White House co-main event to regain the interim heavyweight championship.
The referee halted the bout at 1:27 of round two after Gane hurt Pereira with punches. Before the finish, Gane dropped Pereira with a jab and followed with elbows before the fight returned to the feet.
Speaking after the win, Gane said, "We worked on it," before expanding on what the performance meant to him. "I’m really proud of myself, really proud of my team. We knew it was possible to do that. We knew, everybody knows I’m a great athlete. I’m really technical but people underestimate me. We will see. Now I just want to say thank you."
Gane is now interim heavyweight champion again and is expected to have a title unification bout against Tom Aspinall once Aspinall is ready to compete. Looking ahead, Gane added, "Next, everybody knows, let’s do that in Paris in September."
Pereira entered the fight as a former two-division champion after pre-fight discussion centered on his chance to potentially become the first three-division champion in UFC history. The result keeps the unresolved heavyweight picture between Gane and Aspinall firmly in focus.
