Alex Pereira has said he expects to weight around 242lb when he makes his heavyweight debut, as the Brazilian prepares to fight Ciryl Gane at the White House.
On 14 June, the UFC will stage an unprecedented event on the South Lawn, with seven fights set to play out as a celebration of 250 years of the United States.
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In the main event, Ilia Topuria will defend his lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje, while the co-main event pits Pereira against Gane.
Alex Pereira at the Oval Office in a meeting with Donald Trump (Getty)
The interim heavyweight belt will be up for grabs in their bout, as Pereira aims to become the first three-weight champion in UFC history, following his reigns at middleweight and light-heavyweight. Meanwhile, France’s Gane is trying to become a two-time interim heavyweight champion.
Pereira, discussing his move up to heavyweight, told Paramount: “Well, I think the right moment is now. At certain points before, but I don’t really remember when, we could have moved up to heavyweight, but it would have felt a bit forced. Not now.
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“Now it’s happening very naturally, in a perfect fight. This fight was supposed to happen earlier, at the first event of the year, but for a few reasons it didn’t happen. And now this has become a big moment.”
Such is Pereira’s physical stature that his 2023 move to light-heavyweight (205lb) felt inevitable; it is remarkable that he ever fought at middleweight (185lb), given his size.
Opening up on his new phase at heavyweight, the 38-year-old said he expects to be around 242lb against Gane. “Not too heavy. I was heavier before, though,” he said. “I got up to [258lb] and then I gradually started cutting back down.”
Pereira also suggested he once cut from 242lb to 205lb for a light-heavyweight fight, saying: “Now doing the math is difficult.”
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He added of his new heavyweight venture: “It helps me a lot, because of my diet. I don’t have that concern anymore. When I was a middleweight, it was much more complicated.
Pereira stopped Magomed Ankalaev in short order in their October rematch (Getty)
“About a month before the fight, I had to cut back heavily on food, maybe even feel a bit weaker. The weight cut was pretty aggressive. Now I don’t have that concern anymore and, for me, that’s very important.”
Pereira last fought in October, knocking out Magomed Ankalaev in 80 seconds to regain the light-heavyweight title. The Brazilian had lost it to Ankalaev in a points defeat last March, as his impressive first reign at 205lb came to an end. Pereira voluntarily ended his second reign in February, giving up the belt.
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“Poatan” had initially become light-heavyweight champion by knocking out former title holder Jiri Prochazka in 2023, and he stopped Prochazka again in 2024, as well as knocking out Khalil Rountree Jr and ex-champ Jamahal Hill in further title defences.
Previously, Pereira made a swift run to the middleweight belt after debuting in the UFC in 2021; within 12 months he had become champion, stopping old kickboxing rival Israel Adesanya to win gold. However, Adesanya knocked out Pereira in their 2023 rematch, marking the end of the Brazilian’s time at 185lb.
Left to right: Pereira, Ilia Topuria, Donald Trump, Justin Gaethje and Ciryl Gane (Getty)
Gane, 36, last competed in October, fighting heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to a no-contest. Gane committed multiple eye pokes, leaving Aspinall unable to finish the first round.
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Gane had weighed in at 247.5lb to face Aspinall, while he was 245.5lb for his previous bout, a controversial points win over Alexander Volkov in 2024.
The no-contest with Aspinall was Gane’s third undisputed-title fight, following a loss to Francis Ngannou in 2022 and a defeat by Jon Jones in 2023.
Aspinall has since undergone double eye surgery and is expected to return to the cage later this year, against the winner of Pereira vs Gane.
