Alex Pereira Hadapi Ciryl Gane di UFC Freedom 250

Perebutan sabuk juara interim kelas berat Ultimate Fighting Championship antara petarung Brasil Alex Pereira melawan atlet Prancis Ciryl Gane di UFC Freedom 250 memicu perdebatan sengit mengenai potensi penciptaan sejarah baru.

Pertandingan yang digelar di Halaman Selatan Gedung Putih, Washington D.C. pada Minggu, 14 Juni 2026 ini menjadi sorotan karena Pereira berpeluang menjadi petarung pertama yang memenangi gelar juara di tiga divisi berbeda.

Mantan juara kelas berat UFC, Junior dos Santos, menilai agresivitas dan kekuatan pukulan Pereira akan menjadi kunci utama untuk meredam pergerakan Gane yang dikenal lincah mundur ke belakang.

"I think [Pereira’s] style will complicate [Gane]," kata Junior dos Santos, mantan juara kelas berat UFC kepada sherdog.com.

Junior dos Santos menambahkan bahwa Pereira selalu memotong sudut, berputar, dan menghancurkan lawan secara bertahap sehingga benturan gaya bertarung ini akan menguntungkan kekuatan knockout Pereira.

"Alex goes on the offensive mode all the time and always cutting angles, circling and gradually breaking down his opponents. Gane moves well backwards, but once ‘Poatan’ cuts angles very well, they must collide, and when it happens, ‘Poatan’ has the advantage of having one-punch knockout power. There couldn't have been a better debut fight in heavyweight for ‘Poatan.’ I believe he will win and make history by being the first athlete to be champion in three different divisions." cetus Junior dos Santos.

Sementara itu, Fabricio Werdum menyarankan agar Pereira memanfaatkan kelemahan ground game milik Gane yang sebelumnya sempat diekspos oleh Francis Ngannou dan Jon Jones.

"They are both great strikers, if ‘Poatan’ decides to exchange punches it can be a chess match with Ciryl having more chances to surprise," tutur Fabricio Werdum.

Fabricio Werdum meyakini kemampuan jiu-jitsu Pereira telah berkembang pesat setelah berlatih bersama Glover Teixeira, sehingga kuncian bisa menjadi jalan keluar yang lebih mudah.

"I saw ‘Poatan’ training on the ground with Glover [Teixeira] and he clearly evolved his ground skills, so in my opinion he should expose Ciryl like Ngannou and Jones did. If ‘Poatan’ believes in his jiu-jitsu skills, he will be able to submit Gane. Besides not having a good ground game, Gane has a small heart, I realized that in his fight with Jon Jones. He accepted the defeat, stood still and didn’t even attempt a defense when the guillotine choke wasn’t even locked in. ‘Poatan’ can win standing up, but if he takes Gane to the ground, he will make it easier." jelas Fabricio Werdum.

Di sisi lain, komentator UFC Jon Anik memiliki pandangan berbeda mengenai klaim CEO UFC Dana White yang menyebut Pereira akan melompati Jon Jones dalam daftar petarung terbaik sepanjang masa (GOAT) jika menang.

"It's interesting," ungkap Jon Anik dilansir dari aol.com saat konferensi pers pra-pertarungan.

Jon Anik menegaskan kriteria kehebatan tertinggal pada jumlah pertahanan gelar, di mana Pereira baru memiliki tiga kali pertahanan dibandingkan Jon Jones yang mengoleksi 16 kali.

"My broadcast partner Daniel Cormier probably doesn't get the credit he deserves in terms of his relative all-time greatness. It's hard to put this into context." tambah Jon Anik.

Meskipun demikian, Jon Anik tetap mengapresiasi pencapaian langka yang sedang dikejar oleh Pereira di divisi berat ini.

"I feel like greatness should be judged on championship title defenses," tukas Jon Anik.

Ia mencontohkan spanduk penghormatan yang layak digantung untuk para juara dominan seperti Georges St-Pierre atau Demetrious Johnson.

"If they hung a banner in Albuquerque, N.M. every time Jon Jones defended the title, they'd have 15 banners hanging up. I think in terms of chasing down Jon Jones or Georges St-Pierre or Demetrious Johnson, maybe there would still be work to be done. 'Poatan' did not defend the middleweight title." sebut Jon Anik.

Jon Anik juga menyoroti status Daniel Cormier yang pernah menjadi juara ganda simultan namun jarang disebut dalam diskusi GOAT.

"My gosh, Mount Rushmore is getting awfully crowded," ucap Jon Anik.

Meskipun menuntut pembuktian lebih lanjut, Jon Anik mengakui atmosfer persaingan yang dihadapi Pereira sangat luar biasa.

"I just acknowledged a guy like DC who was a simultaneous double-champ, defended the belt in two divisions, and isn't necessarily mentioned in these conversations. I think he should be. But 'Poatan' is certainly chasing rarefied air that no one has breathed before, and we'll see if he can check that box." pungkas Jon Anik.

Mantan rival Pereira, Israel Adesanya, justru memberikan dukungan moral agar petarung Brasil itu meraih kesuksesan di kelas berat demi menyegarkan divisi yang sedang mandeg.

"This is what the division needed. (Jon) Jones is in or out; we don't know," aku Israel Adesanya dikutip dari mmasucka.com.

Israel Adesanya menyatakan kekagumannya terhadap rekam jejak Pereira yang melesat cepat dari dunia kickboxing hingga merebut sabuk juara kelas berat ringan UFC.

"Aspinall is still recovering from the last fight with Gane, so now they need something fresh, a guy like Alex who's come to the UFC, smoked dudes to fight me, and then beat me, and then from there becoming the light heavyweight champion, and then now, never been done before, never even been attempted. This is rare air." urai Israel Adesanya.

Menurut Adesanya, publik harus menghargai besarnya skala pencapaian yang sedang diupayakan oleh mantan lawannya tersebut.

"This is a level where you have to really just appreciate what this guy has done from kickboxing, from his background, his ties to his roots," sambung Israel Adesanya.

Pertarungan akhir pekan ini diprediksi berjalan seimbang mengingat analisis teknis dari mmamania.com menunjukkan FanDuel Sportsbook menempatkan bursa taruhan sama kuat bagi kedua petarung.

"Whether you love him or hate him, you have to really appreciate the magnitude of where this guy is taking it to now. This is crazy." tutup Israel Adesanya.