Alex Pereira will look to conquer another division later this evening when he takes on Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight gold strap at the White House.
Alex Pereira vs Ciryl Gane UFC Fight UK Start Time Tonight
Alex Pereira will look to become a champion in a third division this evening when he takes on Ciryl Gane. 'Poatan' began his UFC career as a middleweight, becoming a champion in just his fourth fight in the promotion after knocking out Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 back in 2022. A year later, the Brazilian opted to move up to light-heavyweight and try his luck in a new division.
After defeating Jan Blachowicz on his 205lb debut, Pereira was handed a shot at the light-heavyweight title at UFC 295 against Jiří Prochazka. The 38-year-old would go on to become a two-division champion after knocking Prochazka out in the second round. He would go on to defend his title three times before dropping the belt to Magomed Ankalaev last year. However, he was quick to get his revenge just months later after knocking the Russian out in the first round back in October. After a triumphant spell in two weight classes, the MMA veteran has decided to move up to heavyweight. Pereira faces a tough ask in the shape of Gane - who has not fought since his controversial clash with Tom Aspinall. And so, here is everything you need to know ahead of tonight's fights.
What time does Alex Pereira vs Ciryl Gane start tonight?
The UFC will stage a historic night of fighting tonight - which is also US President Donald Trump's 80th birthday. It will start at 1am UK time on Monday (8pm ET / 7pm CT / 5pm PT). Gane will likely make the walk to the cage at around 3:30am UK time on Monday (10:30pm ET / 9:30pm CT / 7:30pm PT) with Pereira set to follow straight after. In the main event, Gaethje will make the walk to the cage first at around 4am UK time on Monday (11pm ET / 10pm CT / 8pm PT) with Topuria set to follow shortly after. The two stars will then touch gloves soon after before the first bell sounds. The fight should not start later than this but could be brought forward if the undercard fights are completed earlier than expected.
How to watch and stream UFC White House fights
The fights will be shown on the UK on TNT Sports and HBO Max. The card is not set to be a pay-per-view event so existing customers will be able to watch the fights free of charge. The fights will also be streamed on Paramount+ in the US. The fights can be watched on TV or streamed through your mobile device.
UFC White House fight card
- Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje
- Alex Pereira vs Ciryl Gane
- Sean O’Malley vs Aiemann Zahabi
- Derrick Lewis vs Josh Hokit
- Mauricio Ruffy vs Michael Chandler
- Bo Nickal vs Kyle Daukaus
- Diego Lopes vs Steve Garcia
Quotes corner
Alex Pereira: “Well, I think the right moment is now,” Pereira told Paramount about the timing for his move to heavyweight. “At certain points before but I don’t really remember when we could have moved up to heavyweight but it would have felt a bit forced. Not now. Now it’s happening very naturally, in a perfect fight. This fight was supposed to happen earlier, at the first event of the year but for a few reasons it didn’t happen and now this has become a big moment.”
Ciryl Gane: “I don't want to say it's going to be hard for him because it's not his division, because I'm pretty sure if you jump into the heavyweight division, it's because he can do it, and we saw already, he looked big,” he told the UFC. “My question was how he did (the weight cut to fight at) middleweight. That’s really crazy, because he’s 6-foot-4, like me, and gonna be heavy, like me, like a normal heavyweight. So yeah, it’s gonna be a real matchup of heavyweight fighters.”
