Ciryl Gane demolished Alex Pereira to end his rival's dream of winning a third UFC title. Former middleweight and light-heavyweight champion Pereira was attempting to become the first fighter to win belts in three divisions as he made his heavyweight debut. But he bit off more than he could chew in front of President Donald Trump as Gane dropped and stopped the Brazilian in the second round.
Gane Crowned Interim Champion
Gane was crowned interim heavyweight champion and will now be expected to face full champion Tom Aspinall, whom he met last October in a clash which resulted in a no-contest when Gane poked Aspinall in the eye, leaving the Brit requiring surgery on both eyes.
Fight Breakdown
Pereira looked sharp in the opening stages of the first round but Gane worked his way into the session and after a failed takedown attempt, looked the sharper on his feet. The Frenchman dropped Pereira in the second round with a jab before punishing his rival with hammer fists. Pereira survived and appeared to have regained some composure, but Gane caught him flush with a four-punch combination, and referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight.
Other Results
Earlier, Sean O'Malley continued his journey back to a bantamweight title shot with a second-round stoppage of Aiemann Zahabi. O'Malley has now won two on the bounce since losing his title to Merab Dvalishvili and then slipping to defeat in their rematch. Michael Chandler's UFC career is hanging by a thread after he was stopped in the first round by Mauricio Ruffy.
Josh Hokit stopped Derrick Lewis in the second round to extend his perfect record to 10-0 and take a step closer to a heavyweight title shot. Bo Nickal made it two wins from two since he lost his first fight last year when he stopped Kyle Daukaus, while Diego Lopes opened the card by beating Steve Garcia.
