Ciryl Gane takes out Alex Pereira in wild Round 2 finish at UFC Freedom 250

Alex Pereira chased history on the South Lawn of the White House, but the heavyweight mountain proved too steep to climb. In the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250, former interim titleholder Ciryl Gane spoiled the highly anticipated heavyweight debut of the Brazilian superstar, stopping Alex Pereira with a spectacular second-round TKO to recapture the interim heavyweight championship.

Pereira entered Sunday’s historic fight card aiming to become the first three-division champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history. Instead, the natural size and structural dominance of Gane completely shut down the historic bid.

It belongs to him @Ciryl_Gane earns the RD2 TKO and becomes the interim heavyweight champ!#UFCWhiteHouse LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus!

[ Title fights presented by @Cryptocom ] pic.twitter.com/Cm5EN86wyw

— UFC (@ufc) June 15, 2026

The elite strikers initially engaged in a tense technical battle, trading leg kicks on the perimeter while Gane worked his standard, fluid jab. While the first round stayed close, the structural disparity became heavily apparent in the second round.

Gane stepped up the aggression, dropping Pereira with a remarkably stiff jab. Pereira showed immense warrior spirit by pulling himself back to his feet, but he found himself trapped in a devastating onslaught. The powerful Frenchman unloaded a ferocious barrage of punches on his wobbled opponent, forcing referee Herb Dean to mercifully wave off the matchup at the 1:27 mark of Round 2.

The official fight data perfectly reflects the striking masterclass put on by the victorious Frenchman. Gane completely dominated the volume battle, landing an incredible 54 of his 86 total strikes to finish with a highly efficient 62.8% accuracy. On the flip side, a completely stifled Pereira struggled to get going offensively, landing just 12 of 33 total strikes with an underwhelming 36.4% accuracy.

With another interim belt secured, Gane officially sets up a highly anticipated undisputed title unification rematch against reigning heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.

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