Francis Ngannou backs Ciryl Gane and warns Alex Pereira about UFC matchup

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Francis Ngannou believes that Ciryl Gane could prove to be a difficult challenge for Alex Pereira.

Pereira is scheduled to make his heavyweight debut against Gane on June 14 in the UFC White House co-main event, where the interim title will be on the line.

Pereira has been documenting his move up in weight on social media, and there’s growing interest in how he’ll handle the new division. The Brazilian is once again attempting to make history, this time by claiming gold across three different weight classes.

“I would love to see [Jon] Jones versus Alex [Pereira],” Ngannou said. “I think that was my take at first when I thought about it and everything. That’s definitely something I would love to see.”

Pereira certainly has fans behind him, but many are picking Gane for this one — including former champion Francis Ngannou, who knows both fighters well. And with him having fought both men, he thinks ‘Bon Gamin’ presents an uphill battle for Pereira given what each man brings into the Octagon.

Ngannou sides with Ciryl Gane in Pereira bout

Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images

After training with ‘Bon Gamin’ for his title fight, Pereira’s former opponent Artem Vakhitov is now leaning 70/30 in Gane’s favour.

Another voice in support of the Frenchman is Francis Ngannou, who faced and defeated Gane back in 2022.

Ngannou surprised many by using his wrestling to control the fight against Gane, providing a clear path for others to follow against the Frenchman.

Speaking about the fight, Ngannou said:

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