The main event is the headliner, but the co-main might be the better fight — and it’s the only one on the card where a man can write his name into the record books in a way no one ever has. When Alex Pereira (13-3) meets Ciryl Gane (13-2) for the interim heavyweight title Sunday, a win for Pereira makes him the first three-division champion in UFC history.
Poatan’s Bid for the Record Books
There have been 11 two-division champions across the UFC’s 33-year history. No one has ever held belts in three. Pereira — already a former middleweight and light heavyweight champion — is now stepping up to heavyweight to chase that unprecedented third crown. For a fighter whose case for all-time-great status is already loud, this is the line that would settle the argument.
The questions are the obvious ones: he’s moving up in weight again, against a natural heavyweight, and giving up size to one of the most technically gifted big men in the division. But Pereira has made a career of walking into rooms he supposedly didn’t belong in and leaving with the belt. His left hook doesn’t care what weight class it’s in.
Gane’s Redemption Window
For Ciryl Gane, this is a third crack at UFC heavyweight gold and arguably his most winnable. “Bon Gamin” remains one of the most fluid, rangy strikers in the sport — a footwork-and-distance technician who, on his best night, makes elite heavyweights look slow. He’s come up short at the championship level before, but this is a different kind of opponent: a smaller man moving up, not a giant grappler looking to drag him to the mat.
If Gane fights at range and uses his size and reach the way he’s built to, this is the matchup that finally validates years of being called the most talented heavyweight who never quite closed.
A True Coin Flip
Here’s what sets this fight apart on a card full of favorites: the oddsmakers can’t separate them. Both men sit right around even money — the closest line on the entire Freedom 250 card. It’s a classic puncher-vs-technician puzzle. Pereira needs to close distance and land the one shot that ends nights. Gane needs to keep the fight in open water, pile up volume, and never give Poatan a stationary target.
The Subplots
Pereira hasn’t spent fight week quietly, either — he’s publicly questioned the antics of red-hot prospect Josh Hokit, who responded by calling a future clash with Poatan “inevitable.” And lurking over the whole division is the question of undisputed champion Tom Aspinall: crown an interim champ here, and the pressure for a unification fight only grows. A statement win Sunday — from either man — reshapes the entire heavyweight picture.
The Bottom Line
Topuria vs. Gaethje is the bigger name, but Pereira vs. Gane is the better bet for drama: a genuine pick-’em, a history-making prize, and two finishers who can end it at any second. If you’re looking for the fight most likely to steal the night, this is it.
Records, knockout data, and division history powered by Damage Index.