Alex Pereira has never been shy about chasing history. Now he wants to do it on one of the sport’s most sacred stages, against the man who just beat him.
The former two-division UFC champion has set his sights on an immediate rematch with interim heavyweight titleholder Ciryl Gane, and he wants it under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden at UFC 334 on November 14.
Pereira Wants Gane, Wants MSG, Wants a Third Belt
Speaking to UFC Brasil, Pereira didn’t dance around his intentions. He believes the only fight that makes sense is a second shot at Gane and the interim heavyweight belt that slipped away in June at UFC Freedom 250.
“I think that’s the fight that makes sense. I really want it to work out, I want to win that third belt. I think I’ve done a lot of things in the UFC, and I think I deserve to have those options. I’d come back at Madison Square Garden, me and Ciryl Gane. If it were up to me, that’s what I’d choose,” Pereira said.
That’s the ambition: a third UFC title, in a third weight class, in the same arena where he has already carved out some of his defining moments. Madison Square Garden has become a recurring backdrop for Pereira’s rise, and he wants it again as the setting for his heavyweight redemption.
A Controversial Finish and a Stalled Division
On paper, the UFC rarely rushes back into a rematch when one fighter has just been finished in an interim title bout. Gane stopped Pereira in June to claim the interim heavyweight strap and secure a unification clash with reigning champion Tom Aspinall.
But the circumstances aren’t clean-cut.
The finish came under a cloud. Gane hurt Pereira with shots that included illegal strikes to the back of the head, and the stoppage arrived not long after. That controversy hasn’t gone away, and it gives Pereira a foothold in his argument for another crack.
Then there’s the state of the division. Aspinall is still sidelined with injury, and there is no clear timeline for his return or a guarantee he’ll fight again this year. The heavyweight title picture is stuck in neutral, and the promotion needs movement at the top.
A rematch between Gane and Pereira for the interim belt keeps the division alive. It gives Gane an active defense while he waits for Aspinall, and it hands Pereira the chance to chase that audacious third championship without holding up another weight class.
Will the UFC Bite?
From a strict meritocratic lens, the matchup is a stretch. From a business and narrative standpoint, it’s anything but.
Pereira is one of the UFC’s biggest current attractions, a proven pay-per-view headliner who delivers knockouts and storylines in equal measure. Gane, with the interim title and a win already over Pereira, brings legitimacy and a stylistic clash that sells.
Layer on the controversy from their first meeting and the uncertainty around Aspinall’s health, and the rematch starts to look less like a long shot and more like a convenient solution.
Pereira has made his choice clear: Ciryl Gane, Madison Square Garden, November 14.
The next move belongs to the UFC.
