Alex Pereira dismissed Ciryl Gane’s promotion to undisputed UFC heavyweight champion on Instagram, turning the belt change into another public dispute over who really belongs at the top. In the post, Pereira laughed off Gane’s new status and kept pressing for a rematch, even as signs point toward that fight being the next heavyweight title bout.
The reaction landed now because Gane’s elevation came only after Tom Aspinall vacated the crown, and Pereira is making sure the conversation does not stop at the belt. He says Gane beat him only because of illegal shots to the back of the head, and the Instagram graphic attached to the post repeated that complaint with a blunt line: “10 illegal head shots to Potan.” The caption said it even more directly: “Same circus, different belt.”
That is why the heavyweight picture has stayed messy. Pereira has campaigned for a rematch and for Herb Dean to be sacked, arguing that Gane was “dead tired” and had to lean on illegal strikes to steal the victory. His complaint is not isolated. Alexander Volkov still believes he should have gotten the nod in his rematch with Gane, and UFC had already promised Volkov it would make it up to him. That promise has not turned into a title fight.
Josh Hokit is also part of the pushback because he has been raising hell at the idea of being skipped over for a man who has yet to win a UFC fight at Heavyweight. That grievance matters because heavyweight title shots are now being argued in public, not sorted quietly behind the scenes. When a champion is elevated after a vacancy, while the most visible challenger disputes the result and others feel bypassed, the bracket becomes as important as the belt itself.
For now, the signs are pointing toward Pereira against Gane, but the real question is whether UFC treats that as the next title fight or keeps the division open to another appeal. Pereira’s Instagram reaction made clear he does not accept Gane’s reign, and the more he pushes, the harder it becomes to sell the promotion as settled.
