Alex Pereira accuses UFC of using Cormier and influencers to sell Gane vs. Hokit

Alex Pereira says the UFC got Daniel Cormier and other "influencers" to talk up Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit before announcing the title fight. He made the claim in an interview with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana, posted on YouTube on Monday, October 12. As of Tuesday, neither the UFC nor Cormier had responded.

The interview is in Portuguese. In MMA Fighting's translation, Pereira said he accepted the decision but felt the build-up was steered:

It was all kind of manipulated, you know? I saw some things even before they made the announcement, with Cormier and other guys saying it was going to be a good fight.

He said the UFC tells people with big followings to praise a fight first. That way, "when we announce it, the audience will already be okay with it." He also said the UFC told him a poll, which he never saw, showed fans wanted the fight, according to Sherdog. In the Bloody Elbow translation quoted by Heavy, he said he spoke directly with UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell, who said this would be the fight.

What checks out

One part of his account is on the record. Tom Aspinall vacated the title on September 14 after a new accident further damaged his right eye. Cormier backed Gane vs. Hokit on his YouTube channel right after, and Heavy reported it on September 15:

Ciryl Gane should defend the heavyweight championship against Josh Hokit. That's the fight.

Cageside Press reported the booking four days later.

The rest is an allegation. No poll has been made public, and Pereira didn't point to any instruction given to Cormier, as MiddleEasy notes.

Pereira also recalled asking Cormier whether beating Gane would make him champion, and said Cormier answered, "Man, I don't think so." Cormier told a different version of what sounds like the same exchange at media day in June. He said he told Pereira he didn't think he'd be "the greatest just yet," according to Athlon. MMA Fighting notes the two get along and jokingly wrestle when they meet backstage at fight weeks.

Why Pereira feels passed over

Gane stopped Pereira at 1:27 of the second round on June 14 at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House South Lawn. It was his heavyweight debut, and the interim title was on the line. Pereira has said Gane landed illegal blows to the back of the head and has pushed for a rematch ever since, LowKick MMA reported. The fight closed near a pick'em, with Pereira a slight favourite at −114 (51%) and Gane at −105 (49%), per our numbers.

Hokit, 28, is 10-0 and 4-0 in the UFC. He's a former Fresno State running back and All-American wrestler who signed with the 49ers undrafted in 2020. He knocked out Derrick Lewis on the same June card and was the betting favourite in all four of his UFC fights. In MMA Fighting's translation, Pereira asked, "what has the guy even done?"

Hokit had been goading Pereira for months before the White House card, Cageside Press reported. In early September he mocked the rematch idea on X, per LowKick: "As a fan, that fight makes no f*cking sense. I watched you get demolished."

We think Pereira's case for a rematch is stronger than his case for a setup. Dana White said in June that "it's undeniable" Pereira took strikes to the back of the head, according to LowKick MMA. Cormier backing Gane vs. Hokit before the booking fits Pereira's story, but it fits just as well with a UFC commentator giving his own take once the belt came open. Nothing shown so far separates the two.

What's next

Gane (14-2) and Hokit meet for the undisputed heavyweight title at UFC 334 on November 14 at Madison Square Garden. The market has Gane at 69% and Hokit at 31% today, with best prices of −263 and +215 at DraftKings. Those prices can move before fight week.

Pereira (13-4) faces Sergei Pavlovich (21-3) in the co-main of UFC 335 on December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It's a five-round fight, per Fightful. The UFC hasn't said the winner gets the next title shot.