Former two-weight champion Alex Pereira will look to conquer another division when he moves up to take on Ciryl Gane at the White House this weekend. Tom Aspinall has advised Pereira to chop Gane's leg in their heavyweight showdown. Pereira will move up yet another division on Sunday night in a bid to become a three-division champion. The former middleweight and light-heavyweight title-holder will take on Gane for the interim strap on the South Lawn, with the winner set to face Aspinall at the end of the year.
Aspinall knows exactly what it feels like to get punched in the face by Gane after their controversial clash back in October. The Brit was defending his heavyweight crown for the first time against the Frenchman in Abu Dhabi, but the contest was waved off and deemed a no contest in the first round after Aspinall was poked in both eyes. The Brit has since undergone surgery in both eyes and is still recovering but is hoping to return to action as soon as possible. With Aspinall's next opponent fighting this weekend, the 33-year-old was eager to offer his verdict on the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250.
Giving Pereira some tips ahead of the clash, Aspinall said on his YouTube channel: "I think Alex's way to win is by chopping that leg down a little bit. The thing is, Ciryl stands in a southpaw stance, but — [Pereira] did this a couple of times in his earlier fights against different guys — he'll still chop the front leg against a southpaw. So if [Gane's] stood with his right leg forward, he still throws that low calf [kick], and he'll kick his opponent on the inside of the calf... he can still take that leg out and stop his movement." He added: "If I were Team Pereira, I would definitely be trying to chop that leg. That was our plan later down the fight, we were going to try and chop his legs down to stop his movement a little bit, which I did manage to do before we know what happened."
Unfortunately for Aspinall, the British brawler's fight with Gane did not go the way he wanted following the eye pokes, and when asked about how 'Poatan' can defend the potential pokes to the eye, Aspinall replied: "I have no idea. Just hope it doesn't hit the spot as it did on me, I guess." With Aspinall having both eyes firmly set on this weekend's action, despite offering Pereira some crucial advice, he is still backing rival Gane to get his hand raised: "If I were leaning one way, it would be Ciryl Gane on points," he explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if Alex knocks him out, though, either. But I would definitely lean more towards Gane on points."
The one-of-a-kind showcase will take place on the South Lawn, with many big names set to feature. Former bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley will look to work his way back into title contention with a win over Aiemann Zahabi. The likes of Derrick Lewis, Josh Hokit, Michael Chandler, Mauricio Ruffy and Diego Lopes all feature, but the most intriguing fight will take place in the main event — a lightweight title dust-up between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje.
