Daniel Cormier wants everyone to stop questioning Ciryl Gane’s place at heavyweight after UFC Freedom 250.
Gane (14-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) stopped Alex Pereira (13-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) by second-round TKO to claim the interim heavyweight title in Sunday’s co-main event at the White House in Washington DC.
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Gane put a stop to Pereira’s bid at becoming the first three-division champion in the UFC, and he did it in definitive fashion. Cormier was very impressed with the Frenchman’s performance.
“Alex Pereira dared to be great. He dared to dream. Unfortunately it didn’t go his way,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Ciryl Gane is the real deal. I don’t understand why, for so long, we have all tried to bypass Ciryl Gane as one of the best heavyweights, if not the best heavyweight in the world. He has told you time and time again he belongs. He’s told us time and time again, ‘I’ve earned my opportunity, that I’ve earned my chances to get these title fights. Nothing’s given, nobody gave me anything.’ He showed once again why he is so highly regarded in this division, finishing Alex Pereira in a standup fight.
“What Ciryl Gane did beautifully, though, was he showed him takedowns, he showed him wrestling, and by doing that, he was able to get Pereira thinking about all of his skills. We said before the fight that if Ciryl showed up like he did against Tom Aspinall, Pereira would have problems. He showed up like that. Many people on the inside were actually picking Ciryl Gane and thought he was a pretty big favorite. But that’s not to discredit Pereira. Pereira did something that most people would not even imagine trying to do, and that’s trying to become a three-division champion.”
Gane’s win set him up for a rematch with UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. Their first fight at UFC 321 this past October ended in a no contest after Gane accidentally poked Aspinall in the eyes, requiring the champion to undergo double eye surgery.
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After finishing Pereira, Gane called out Aspinall for a September showdown in Paris, which Aspinall said he’s open to doing.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst declares Ciry Gane ‘real deal’ after Alex Pereira win
