Alex Pereira Reacts to Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane UFC 321 Result No Contest

It didn’t take long for Alex Pereira to post his reaction after watching Tom Aspinall’s UFC heavyweight title defense against Ciryl Gane end in a No Contest on Saturday, the 25th of October.

The stage was set for drama, regardless of what people expected to happen. Either Gane, in his third attempt to win the title, could upset the bookmakers’ favorite and score an unlikely win. Or Aspinall would recapture all the momentum he’d lost sitting on the sidelines for the last 15 months, while waiting to see if Jon Jones would ever fight him. All Aspinall had to do was beat Gane in as ruthless a fashion as ‘Bones’ managed.

But neither of those scenarios took place, frustrating the entire crowd — who Aspinall later turned on — as Gane poked both of the champion’s eyes, compromising his vision. Considering he could not see, the referee had no choice but turn the fight to a No Contest. Nobody won. Nobody lost.

Now, Pereira has had his say.

Alex Pereira’s 7-Word Reaction to Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane No Contest

Gane appeared to even have the upper hand in the fight, and could have won the first round had it not ended prematurely. The crowd raged, Aspinall turned on those who booed, and Gane apologized to everybody. To the fans who paid to watch, to Aspinall, and to everybody at home.

One man watching keenly was Pereira. The two-weight UFC champion has been linked with a move to heavyweight, ruling out a fight against Aspinall in favor of one, instead, against Jones. And he reiterated his eagerness to book that bout in the aftermath of the disappointing result at UFC 321.

Pereira said the following, referring to a showdown with Jones at The White House in June 2026:

It is unclear when the UFC will be able to re-book Aspinall vs Gane, but it could be a fitting headliner early in the Paramount+ schedule at the beginning of next year. Should the UFC want to get the division moving again, though, it could turn to Pereira vs Jones — a clear super-fight if ever there was one, and one with, perhaps, far more momentum than Aspinall vs Gane, considering the way in which that fight played out this weekend.