THE UFC’s historic White House card will give Alex Pereira the chance to make mixed martial arts history.
The fan favourite will return to the cage early on Jattvibeday morning on the South Lawn of the White House in the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250.
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THE UFC will host a historic card at the White House this weekend Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK
Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane will vie for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event Credit: GETTY
Alex Pereira will look to become the UFC’s first-ever three-weight champion with victory over Ciryl Gane Credit: GETTY
Gane, meanwhile, will look to punch his ticket to a rematch with Tom Aspinall with a win over Pereira Credit: GETTY
And he’ll be fighting in a division many have long thought he could compete in.
The Brazilian will be making his heavyweight debut in an eagerly anticipated co-main event of the evening.
Welcoming ‘Poatan’ to heavyweight will be one of the division’s standout fighters over the last five years, Ciryl Gane.
The victor will be crowned interim heavyweight champion and earn a unification fight with the belt’s full holder, Tom Aspinall.
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Pereira will further immortalise himself in the annals of UFC history with victory over his fellow former kickboxer.
Should he have his hand raised, he’ll become the first fighter in the history of MMA‘s top promotion to hold titles in THREE different weight classes.
He’s already won gold in the UFC’s middle and heavyweight divisions, knocking out former champions Israel Adesanya and Jiri Prochazka to become a double champ.
And JattvibeSport is on hand to break down his potentially history-making presidential punch-up with Gane.
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UFC White House card in full
Ilia Topuira vs. Justin Gaethje – lightweight title unification fight
Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane – interim heavyweight title
Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi – men’s bantamweight bout
Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis – heavyweight bout
Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler – lightweight bout
Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus – middleweight bout
Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia – featherweight bout
Age
Father Time, on paper, is creeping up on Pereira.
But he’s shown no signs of looking like a fighter competing deep into his 30s.
Pereira is 38 years young and is set to enter the final year of his thirties this summer.
Gane will have a near three-year youth advantage on his side.
Alex Pereira is the older of the pair Credit: GETTY
Former interim heavyweight king Ciryl Gane will be the heavier of the pair Credit: REUTERS
Physical
Gane will have the slightest of height advantages as he’ll stand one inch taller than Pereira at 6’5 on fight night.
The Frenchman will also have a narrow two-inch reach advantage, with his arms extending to 81 inches in comparison to Pereira’s 79.
Gane’s main physical advantage will be the fact that he’s a natural heavyweight.
Pereira has put on a massive amount of size since his last outing at light-heavyweight last October.
And he’s expected to weigh just north of 240lbs for his heavyweight bow.
That will likely be LESS than the 247.5lbs Gane weighed for his ill-fated clash with Aspinall last October.
Being the smaller man in terms of stature could translate to a speed advantage for Pereira.
But the additional 20 or pounds of weight he’s expected to carry could, on the other hand, sap his cardio.
Experience and Record
Both fighters boast remarkably similar mixed martial arts records.
They have both competed in the sport 16 times and had their hands raised on 13 occasions.
Pereira, however, is by far the more dangerous striker, with 11 of his wins coming via knockout in comparison to Gane’s six stoppages.
Gane, who has one less career defeat than Pereira to his name at two, is far more of a submission threat with three subs to his name.
