Ciryl Gane added another finish to the knockout-filled card at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday, stopping former two-division champion Alex Pereira in the second round with a sharp, composed performance that earned him the interim heavyweight title for the second time.
Pereira came out aggressively, opening the fight with a high kick that immediately signaled his intent. He followed with calf kicks while Gane tried to work behind his jab, though he initially struggled to find the target. Gane adjusted by mixing in leg kicks and front kicks to disrupt Pereira’s rhythm, then attempted the bout’s first takedown, which Pereira defended without much trouble.
As the round progressed, Gane began to settle in offensively. He varied his attack more effectively, and his jab started to land, helping set up a straight left hand. Both fighters exchanged solid leg kicks, and Pereira narrowly missed with another head kick before connecting with a heavy right hand late in the round.
Follow along with our live UFC Freedom 250 coverage for round-by-round scoring and updated results throughout the event.
Gane carried that momentum into the second round, continuing to attack with kicks before landing a crisp counter jab that dropped Pereira. He quickly swarmed with punches and elbows as Pereira desperately reached for a takedown, but the former champion managed to hang on for the moment.
That brief escape did little to slow Gane. He kept pressing forward, repeatedly hurting Pereira and leaving him unsteady as referee Herb Dean appeared on the verge of stepping in to halt the fight.
As Pereira stumbled back into the Octagon fence, Gane fired more big shots. This time, as Pereira slumped against the Octagon wall, Dean jumped in to halt the fight at the 1:27 mark of Round 2.
The performance was arguably the best of Gane’s career, as he took on a legend and looked to be the better man from the early moments of the fight with a more dynamic attack.
“We worked on it, we did a really great job with my team,” Gane said after the win. “I’m really proud of myself and my team. … We knew that was possible to do. We knew that.”
Gane is now positioned for a rematch with heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. In Gane’s first fight with Aspinall, he was performing tremendously before the fight was halted after Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes, leaving Aspinall sidelined ever since.
“We will see,” Gane said of a rematch. “Next, let’s do it in Paris in September.”
For Pereira, his attempt to win UFC gold in a third division came up short in brutal fashion.
“This was the risk, you know? If I hadn’t taken a risk every time I fought, I wouldn’t be here today,” Pereira said before addressing whether his future was at heavyweight or a return to light heavyweight. “… I don’t know, we’re going to sit down and look at it. The same way we lost at middleweight, we’re going to sit down with my team and talk about it.”
