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‘Poatan’ is not expecting Ciryl Gane to lose his heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden.
Alex Pereira will have a close eye on the main event of UFC 334, which takes place in New York City on November 14.
After missing out on challenging Gane himself at MSG, the Brazilian will have to watch on as his rival Josh Hokit looks to make the most of the opportunity.
The American’s title shot comes in just his fifth UFC fight, and Pereira expects it to be a case of too much, too soon for ‘The Incredible Hok’.
Pereira is frustrated with the UFC’s decision to give Hokit a shot against Gane. He was hoping for his own opportunity, having complained about illegal shots in his stoppage loss to ‘Bon Gamin’ this past June.
Instead of another chance to make history by becoming the first triple champion in the promotion’s history, Pereira must defeat Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 this December to earn another shot.
‘Poatan’ plans to fight the winner of the November 14 main event in 2027, and it sounds like he is firmly expecting that to be the French undisputed titleholder.
“I think Ciryl Gane (wins),” Pereira said during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“I don’t think (Hokit is ready). He is on a winning streak, but against opponents that are not in a good moment in the UFC.
“The results show that,” he continued. “If you see the last fights, he was actually getting very tired. Those guys aren’t even in a good moment in the UFC, and he was already getting tired.
“So imagine a five-round fight. Unless he really changes from the last fight to this one, it’s gonna be hard.”
Pereira had hoped to get his hands on Hokit if he wasn’t given an immediate shot at Gane’s undisputed title, which the Frenchman was handed after Tom Aspinall vacated the throne.
The pair have gone back and forth ever since the lead-up to UFC Freedom 250, where ‘The Incredible Hok’ beat Derrick Lewis before Gane’s interim heavyweight title win over Pereira.