Alex Pereira accuses UFC of ‘manipulation’ to book Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit

Alex Pereira continues to complain about Josh Hokit getting to fight Ciryl Gane for Tom Aspinall’s undisputed Heavyweight title at UFC 334 next month (Sat., Nov. 14, 2026) inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Pereira has made a career off being the stoic, stone-faced assassin who barely says anything. And maybe he should consider going back to that because this new whiny “Poatan” isn’t winning him any new fans.

In a new interview with Laerte Viana, Pereira suggested there was a conspiracy involving UFC to sell Hokit as the most popular option for a title shot over himself.

”The organization said they did some kind of research, some kind of vote, I don’t know, that I didn’t see, and that the public wanted [Gane vs. Hokit],” Pereira revealed. “But, after they put this fight together and announced it, I didn’t see it that way … But, it’s all kind of manipulated.

“I saw some things before they made the announcement,” Pereira continued. “Like Cormier and other people saying it would be a good fight. When I talk about influencers, people who have a lot of engagement and followers, many of them were there saying that this fight is good. When they release it, the public will already be comfortable with it because they will agree.

“So, I think they did everything to try to make people believe that this was the fight,” he finished.

You expect a fighter to stand up for their own interests and push their own narratives, but this is getting ridiculous. Pereira didn’t get the rematch with Gane because Gane beat Pereira in the first round of their fight. Accusations of cheating are just that — accusations — when the official record shows no referee action during the bout.

As for Hokit, he’s one of the most talked about Heavyweight attractions in the division now. UFC doesn’t need to put up a poll, it has the market research and can see what kind of numbers “The Incredible Hok” does. Pereira is just unhappy that Hokit got the title shot and not him. And, once again, it just comes off as sour grapes.

Pereira will have a chance to earn another shot at UFC’s Heavyweight title if he beats Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 in December.