Alex Pereira is not holding back his frustration over the UFC’s decision to put Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit in a fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship. The two are scheduled to headline UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden on November 14, with the heavyweight title on the line.
Although Pereira is preparing for his own heavyweight clash against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335, he has questioned how Gane earned another shot at the gold. He has also argued that Amanda Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison would have been a more deserving choice to headline the November event.
Alex Pereira believes the UFC is trying to influence fans into supporting certain matchups, taking a shot at Daniel Cormier in the process.
“The guy has opinions that don’t make sense. Now, someone who was nobody is suddenly somebody. They’re trying to influence people into thinking this would be the best fight. That’s the only explanation I can think of, unless the guy is a little crazy.
He gets criticized a lot for being inconsistent. One week he says one thing, and the next week he’s saying something completely different from what he said before. So I’m not surprised.”
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— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) October 13, 2026
Pereira’s criticism has not been limited to the matchmaking, either. The former two-division champion recently took aim at Daniel Cormier for supporting the Gane-Hokit matchup, suggesting that the UFC had helped shape the narrative around the fight before officially announcing it.
The Brazilian believes figures such as Cormier helped sell fans on the idea that the matchup made sense for the heavyweight division. While Pereira acknowledged that the promotion ultimately gets to decide its title fights, he was not convinced that public support for the contest developed entirely on its own.
Daniel Cormier Refutes Alex Pereira’s Claims With Video Evidence and His Own Explanation
During a recent interview, Pereira claimed about Cormier, “You take Cormier, when I spoke to him, I asked him, ‘Hey, this fight, if I become champion against Gane, am I the champion?’ He said, ‘Well, I don’t think so; you have to win’, so the guy has some opinions that don’t make sense… They’re trying to influence people to think that this would be the best fight.”
Cormier has finally responded to Pereira’s criticism of his alleged support for the Gane vs. Hokit heavyweight title fight at UFC 334. The UFC Hall of Famer addressed the Brazilian’s comments on his YouTube channel, admitting he was confused about why Pereira had singled him out.
He began by making it clear that he holds Pereira in high regard but disputed the suggestion that the UFC had asked him to promote Gane vs. Hokit.
He said, “Alex Pereira is one of the best fighters we have seen in a very long time…But today, I was given something by Luis: Pereira did an interview, and he said some things, and I think a lot of it is just a bit confusing to me. One, it’s a bout the Josh Hokit-Ciryl Gane fight, but that doesn’t necessarily bother me much at all. It’s not true, though.”
Cormier also denied receiving any instructions from the promotion to build support for the matchup. Instead, he said his opinion came from his own assessment of the heavyweight division.
“I was not told by the UFC to promote this as the fight to happen. I will tell you why I think that was the fight to happen, after some fact-checking….Again, I have nothing against Alex Pereira. If anything, I consider him a buddy of mine. We’ve had some great moments, we’ve had some great interviews, we’ve had some great interactions.”
Daniel Cormier fires back at Alex Pereira over saying DC is manipulated by UFC:
“I was not told by the UFC to promote this as the fight to happen… I’m honest. Like, I don’t lie to these guys. I don’t sugarcoat to these guys.”
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— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) October 13, 2026
However, the disagreement goes beyond the UFC 334 main event. Pereira also took issue with Cormier’s comments about his legacy, claiming the former heavyweight champion told him he would not become the champion even if he had beaten Gane at UFC Freedom 250.
Cormier pushed back on that interpretation, explaining that their conversation was actually about whether Pereira could be considered the greatest of all time. “Guys, that’s not what happened. This was before the White House card, and Alex asked me through Plinio Cruz, if he won, would he be the GOAT?”
To clear things up, Cormier played footage of their interaction ahead of the June 14 event, when Pereira faced Gane for the interim heavyweight title. He insisted that his comments had been misunderstood.
“I didn’t say he wouldn’t be the champ; I said he wouldn’t be the GOAT, yet. I’m honest. I don’t lie to these guys. I don’t sugarcoat to these guys. But I said if he was to win, defend the belt, yeah, we’d have the conversation. But I also said, of course, if he beats Ciryl Gane, he’d be the champion. But I did say that he would be in the conversation. … But I also think that could just be a miscommunication. We don’t talk the same language, all those things.”
Daniel Cormier Questions Alex Pereira’s Claim to an Immediate Rematch With Ciryl Gane
At the heart of Pereira’s frustration is his belief that he deserved an immediate rematch with Gane after their controversial encounter at UFC Freedom 250. The Frenchman finished the Brazilian after landing 11 illegal strikes to the back of his head, sparking questions about the circumstances surrounding the result.
Cormier, however, believes Pereira needs a stronger argument for another immediate title shot. While acknowledging the controversy surrounding the illegal strikes, he questioned whether that alone was enough to justify skipping the queue.
He said, “I think he’s a bit misguided in how he’s approaching it. Because he’s trying to get this rematch, and I really don’t know what he wants to base this immediate rematch on, outside of possibly the strikes to the back of the head. If he’s building his case on, ‘I deserve this rematch based on him finishing me in Round 2 with illegal strikes,’ maybe. But outside of that one thing, there really isn’t much to warrant him getting an immediate title fight.”
Daniel Cormier shuts down Alex Pereira’s immediate rematch claims:
“If he’s building his case on ‘I deserve this rematch based on him finishing me in round number two with illegal strikes’, maybe… But outside of that one thing, there really isn’t much to warrant him getting an immediate title fight.”
Via: @dc_mma
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) October 13, 2026
The UFC veteran also pointed out that Pereira has benefited from opportunities to compete for championships after achieving success at middleweight and light heavyweight. In his view, losing in his heavyweight title debut does not automatically entitle the Brazilian to another shot at the gold.
Cormier even drew a comparison with his own move up to heavyweight. He defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 to become a two-division champion, but argued that things would have been different had he lost that fight. He believes he would not have had a strong case for an immediate rematch either.
For Cormier, the illegal strikes remain Pereira’s most compelling argument. Without that controversy, he believes the Brazilian needs to explain why he should get another title opportunity ahead of other contenders.
Daniel Cormier Explains Why Josh Hokit and Alexander Volkov Deserve Title Shots Ahead of Alex Pereira
Cormier also defended the UFC’s decision to book Hokit against Gane at UFC 334. Hokit has gone 4-0 in the promotion and picked up wins over Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis, giving him a strong case for the opportunity in Cormier’s eyes.
He added that even if Hokit had not received the call, Alexander Volkov would have been a more logical choice because of his history with Gane. That leaves Pereira outside the immediate title picture, at least until he gets another win at heavyweight.
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However, Cormier is not ruling out a future title shot for the Brazilian. Pereira is scheduled to face Sergei Pavlovich in the five-round co-main event at UFC 335, and a victory could put him right back in contention.
He said, “Now, Pereira goes and wins his fight, I would definitely say he deserves to fight the winner. I just don’t know that the result at the White House helps him in any way, shape, or form to be fighting for the belt immediately.”
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Cormier ended his response by reiterating that he has consistently supported Pereira throughout his career. He believes their disagreement may have come down to a misunderstanding rather than any personal animosity, and hopes they can clear the air.
“I just don’t want the conversation changing, because now it feels like we are not aligned in terms of our views, when in reality, I have been a big advocate for Alex Pereira at every single step. I just have to chalk this quote up to a miscommunication and a language barrier.”