Alex Pereira is all set to create history as he prepares to challenge Ciryl Gane at the UFC White House card. On June 14, ‘Poatan’ will compete for the interim heavyweight title on the historic South Lawn, with a chance to unify the belt against Tom Aspinall. But even with the Brazilian standing on the doorstep of becoming a three-division titleholder, a former UFC champion believes it is a risky decision.

As per ex-two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo, Alex Pereira should’ve waited a bit longer before facing Ciryl Gane at heavyweight. Why? Well, ‘Triple C’ presented two reasons to back his claims. First, he believes Pereira still had challenges in the light heavyweight division, particularly against Khamzat Chimaev and Carlos Ulberg. Then, the ex-UFC champ also questioned ‘Poatan’s move because he’s fighting for an interim belt and not the undisputed one.

“I even think that’s wrong. I think there are so many contenders in light heavyweight for Pereira to go through,” Cejudo said on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Kamaru Usman. “I just feel like there are still a lot of names to be taken out before there’s a big match-up at light heavy. There’s a lot, man. There’s Ulberg, who he has never fought. Of course he can beat him. There’s Khamzat Chimaev if he defends that title.

Check this out. If you are fighting for that belt, it’s gotta be the undisputed belt. It takes a little bit because of what it means being a triple champ. And he was also going against a dude who was the undisputed champ (Tom Aspinall). So I could see where the odds are actually coming from. So I just feel like if Pereira was to stick around at light heavyweight a little more, fight undisputed right away. No more interim, none of that,” he added.

Well, Cejudo did raise a fair point that Alex Pereira could’ve defended the 205-pound title at least once, most likely against Carlos Ulberg. But on the other hand, it’s also true that ‘Poatan’s weight had started becoming an issue for him in that division.  In his career, the Brazilian has never missed weight, even during his middleweight run, but it has always been a draining process, which became even more noticeable at light heavyweight.

Currently, Pereira is 38 years old and recently weighed over 240 lbs as his walk-around weight. So why would he wait and keep putting himself through tough weight cuts, potentially risking his health and legacy? Moreover, when it comes to matchups, Dana White has already revealed that reigning middleweight champ, Khamzat Chimaev, would need to defend his title at least once before moving up to 205 lbs, which, anyway, fizzles out the bout for now.

Plus, Carlos Ulberg hasn’t been very vocal about particularly facing Alex Pereira at light heavyweight, something Chael Sonnen also noticed. Thus, the hype around that fight never really caught fire. So if the former 205-lb kingpin had taken that route, he would have risked losing the belt on two occasions, while cutting over 40 lbs for each fight.

Compare that to  Pereira’s fight with Ciryl Gane, which has become one of the hottest discussions in the MMA world. ‘Poatan’ has the chance to become a three-division champion while competing closer to his natural weight class. Yet, regardless of whether the belt is interim or undisputed, Pereira clearly had reasons to move up. Taking the circumstances into account, ‘Triple C’s path definitely sounds more risky for ‘Poatan’.

But while Cejudo argues about potential matchups and the lack of grandeur behind fighting for an interim belt, he may also have another reason for doubting Alex Pereira’s heavyweight move.

Henry Cejudo is convinced that Ciryl Gane will beat Alex Pereira

As the former two-division champion listed reasons why ‘Poatan’s move to heavyweight at this point was a bad decision, he added another one. According to Henry Cejudo, Ciryl Gane could actually light up Alex Pereira on the feet, similar to how the Frenchman looked sharp against Tom Aspinall at UFC 321 last year.

“I don’t think he gets past Ciryl Gane,” Cejudo added on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. “I think that weight is real. Ciryl Gane, he’s a stick-and-move guy. He could 100%, particularly in that division. But nobody has finished Ciryl Gane, bro, and his movement is very problematic. I just don’t see any wrestling from him, which Pereira can have some. But dude can thump, dude. And I would say this too, Pereira also does get hit, Kamaru.”

To be fair, the opening odds have Gane as a slight favorite against Alex Pereira, and there’s definitely some reason for that. ‘Bon Gamin’ is a technical striker who likes to snipe his opponents from distance, which could create problems for the Brazilian. However, the former two-division champion can definitely hang in a striking battle, as he has faced elite technical strikers like Israel Adesanya in the past and defeated him thrice across two combat sports.

That said, as we move toward the UFC’s marquee UFC Freedom 250 card, do you think Pereira made the right decision to fight at heavyweight? Let us know in the comments section below.