UFC Hall of Famer Chris Weidman sees Alex Pereira getting his wish of a rematch with Ciryl Gane.
Pereira (13-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) has been campaigning to run things back with Gane ever since he was finished by second-round TKO
in their interim heavyweight title fight at UFC Freedom 250 in June. Pereira argued that he was struck by numerous illegal blows to the back of his end during the fight-ending sequence and went off on referee Herb Dean for mishandling the fight.Pereira and Gane (14-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) fought while UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) was sidelined after getting poked in the eyes by Gane in their title fight at UFC 321 last October. Gane and Aspinall were gearing for a late 2026 rematch, but ongoing complications
have forced Aspinall to vacate his UFC heavyweight title.
Now Pereira and Josh Hokit (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) are campaigning for the heavyweight title fight, but Weidman said "Poatan" is likely the one to get it.
"How do we define rightful contender? So, Pereira is the biggest star; he's still the biggest star," Weidman said on "Deep Waters." "He just lost, I know. If we're going off rightful, he probably shouldn't get the opportunity, but I think he's probably the frontrunner to get a rematch. ... I'm against that too, but I think that's just the way the sport is now. They want to see the biggest fights – the biggest, most exciting fights for the belt."
The rest of the panel pitched Pereira vs. Hokit, but Weidman disagrees. He sees the UFC going with Pereira vs. Gane, and the second most likely option being Hokit.
"Josh Hokit, he had two big moments in a row," Weidman said. "Derrick Lewis is not ranked very high, very good matchup for him. He went out there and got the finish, and then the Curtis Blaydes fight was one of the Fights of the Year. So, he had the two best moments."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst explains why Alex Pereira 'likely' to get Ciryl Gane rematch
