Ciryl Gane spoiled Alex Pereira’s heavyweight debut in June by delivering a second-round TKO victory in the UFC White House co-main event on June 14th. However, despite the Frenchman beating the Brazilian from pillar to post, ‘Poatan’ remained adamant that a second bout between them could drastically change the outcome. Because of that, he recently called out Gane once again for a rematch.

Fans weren’t exactly thrilled about Pereira facing Gane once again and began criticizing the former champ for his latest callout. But instead of shrugging off the noise, ‘Poatan’ decided to fire back at his critics with a blunt response of his own.

“A lot of people say, ‘The guy can’t take criticism,’ and all that,” Pereira told Luarta Viana (translated from Portuguese to English). “But sometimes these criticisms are things where the person wants to give an opinion, but they don’t understand. And sometimes that can p—s me off a little, you know? It’s not something that wears me down, but if I’m doing nothing, I’ll go there and answer the guy.

“You know? So he’ll see that he’s wrong and maybe become a better person. Sometimes it’s an influencer with a lot of followers, and sometimes I believe that person is influencing people who are thinking completely wrong. So that happens sometimes.” 

Right after his loss, Pereira opened up about recovering from Ciryl Gane’s second-round jab knockdown. However, he ended up blaming Herb Dean for failing to call out his opponent’s illegal shots to the back of the head, which he believes delayed his recovery and contributed to his defeat. Based on that, the former champ has been demanding a rematch against Gane to prove that he can actually defeat the French heavyweight. 

Regardless of the controversial nature of his latest defeat, ‘Poatan’s loss at heavyweight has raised questions about his future in the division. Many believe Pereira’s lack of a win at 265 pounds still makes him undeserving of another shot at the interim champ. Reflecting on that, Brazilian journalist Carlos Figueira stated in one of his videos that, outside of Gane, Sergei Pavlovich could also pose serious problems for Pereira, especially with his takedowns.

The former two-division champion didn’t take that criticism lightly, reportedly calling him a “dog’s a—hole.” In the interview, Pereira also revealed that he had blocked such comments. 

“Yeah. I delete them, I block everyone,” Pereira added. “I do it myself. Sometimes I have time, sometimes I don’t.” 

For years, Alex Pereira cultivated an image of himself as a stoic fighter who rarely responded with words and preferred to let his fists do the talking. But after losing to Ciryl Gane, ‘Poatan’ became noticeably more vocal in responding to his critics. Not long ago, he fired back at another post criticizing him for his White House loss in June, claiming he made so much money that he has 50 bank accounts just to keep it all.

Naturally, fans were surprised by Pereira’s change in demeanor, but the UFC legend clearly doesn’t want to surround himself with people who constantly scrutinize him.

“People tell me, ‘You’re a different person now,” Pereira added in the same interview. “You can’t go to these places anymore because you’re at another level. I say, ‘Go f—k yourself.’ There are my people and the people that I like.”   

Alex Pereira launching a tirade against his critics can certainly catch many by surprise. But it’s not just fans and journalists criticizing him. Even a former UFC champion has backed the criticism of how Pereira has handled his latest loss.

Michael Bisping receives support from Josh Hokit for calling Alex Pereira a “sore loser”

The former two-division champion’s persistent callout of Ciryl Gane hasn’t exactly been met with support online. Pereira’s push for another showdown with the two-time interim champ has also gotten on ex-middleweight champ Michael Bisping’s nerves. 

‘The Count’ firmly believes ‘Bon Gamin’ outclassed ‘Poatan’ while acknowledging that he landed some illegal shots. But it was Pereira’s inability to let the defeat go that really rubbed Bisping the wrong way, prompting him to call Pereira a “sore loser.”

Soon, Pereira’s bitter rival Josh Hokit joined the conversation and supported Bisping. In fact, the Californian believes ‘Poatan’ should face someone like Sergei Pavlovich before demanding another title shot. 

“As a fan, that fight makes no f—–g sense,” Hokit wrote on X. “I watched you get demolished. How about a more favorable matchup like Sergei [Pavlovitch], who is basically a striker & way less athletic than Ciryl. How about you get one f—g win in this weight class before you are gifted another title shot.”  

With so much criticism surrounding Alex Pereira’s callout of Ciryl Gane, the UFC might actually be tempted to run it back one more time. Currently, the heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, is still dealing with eye problems stemming from UFC 321. On top of that, the controversy surrounding a rematch would undoubtedly draw plenty of eyes.

That said, only time will tell what ultimately lies ahead for the Brazilian legend’s future in the 265-pound division.