Alex Pereira Accuses UFC, Daniel Cormier of Fabricating Support for Gane-Hokit

Alex Pereira has raised doubts over the legitimacy of the fan interest surrounding the upcoming UFC heavyweight title fight. Pereira (13-4) is scheduled to face Sergei Pavlovich (21-3) at UFC 335 on Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane (14-2, 1 NC) is booked to defend his title against undefeated challenger Josh Hokit (10-0) at UFC 334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

"Poatan" explained that he initially expected a direct rematch against Gane, who stopped him in June at UFC Freedom 250. However, Pereira said promotion officials informed him that an internal fan poll showed public demand for Gane to face Hokit instead. Pereira noted that he never saw the poll and questioned whether fans genuinely favored that pairing.

In an interview with Laerte Viana, reported by Sherdog, Pereira accused the UFC of using influential voices like former two-division champion Daniel Cormier to create artificial enthusiasm before the fight was made official. Pereira suggested figures with high social engagement were encouraged to praise the matchup early so that the public would accept it upon announcement. Pereira also criticized Cormier's perspective directly, recalling a conversation where Cormier told him he would not be considered the champion even if he defeated Gane.