Alex Pereira Calls for Rematch with Ciryl Gane at Madison Square Garden
Alex Pereira knows exactly where he wants to write his next chapter – under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, with Ciryl Gane standing across from him.
The former two-division UFC champion has made no attempt to play coy. With Tom Aspinall still sidelined and the heavyweight title picture stuck in neutral, Pereira is openly pushing for a rematch with the interim champion who stopped him in June at UFC Freedom 250.
That night, Gane claimed the interim heavyweight belt, secured a future unification bout with Aspinall, and handed Pereira a punishing setback in his bid to conquer a third weight class. On paper, it looked definitive. In the cage, it was anything but simple.
A Controversial Finish, an Unfinished Story
The first meeting ended with Gane getting his hand raised, but the manner of the finish has kept the debate alive. The Frenchman hurt Pereira with blows that included illegal shots to the back of the head, moments before the stoppage. The referee let the action continue, and Gane closed the show.
Pereira hasn’t forgotten. Neither has the fan base.
That controversy is now the crack in the door he is trying to kick wide open. Speaking to UFC Brasil, Pereira laid out his case and his preferred stage: UFC 334 on November 14, the promotion’s annual New York City showcase at Madison Square Garden.
“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.
No hedging. No soft sell. He wants Gane, and he wants him in the world’s most famous arena.
UFC’s Dilemma at Heavyweight
Under normal circumstances, this matchup would be a hard sell for the matchmakers. The UFC rarely rushes back into an interim title rematch when one fighter has already been finished. The script usually calls for the winner to move on, the loser to rebuild.
But heavyweight is stuck.
Aspinall, the official champion, remains out with injury and has no clear timeline for a return. The division can’t simply wait on him without sacrificing momentum. The interim belt that Gane now holds was designed to keep things moving. Right now, it risks gathering dust.
That’s where Pereira’s star power and the controversy of the first fight collide. He is one of the UFC’s biggest attractions, a man who has already ruled at middleweight and light heavyweight and is chasing the rarest of feats – a third title in a third division. Pair that ambition with an unresolved ending, and the rematch starts to look less like a stretch and more like an opportunity.
A second fight between Gane and Pereira for the interim belt would give the division a live storyline, a clear headliner for MSG, and a ready-made unification bout waiting for Aspinall when he finally returns.
The question now is simple: does the UFC stick to its usual playbook, or does it lean into the chaos and give Alex Pereira the heavyweight shot he’s demanding on one of its biggest stages?
