Dana White, Daniel Cormier Respond to Alex Pereira’s Accusation of UFC Manipulation

It’s no secret that Alex Pereira vehemently disagrees with the UFC’s decision to book the Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit undisputed heavyweight championship fight at UFC 334. But the former two-division champion’s frustration runs so deep that he accused the UFC of manipulating the matchup through the likes of Daniel Cormier. 

Pereira’s allegations have since become a point of contention in the UFC world. Reporters asked Dana White about ‘Poatan’s claims against the UFC and Cormier, which the UFC CEO evidently dismissed at the recent Contenders Series post-fight presser. 

“I mean, of course that’s not true,” White said. “You guys are the most paranoid people on the planet. Like, we’re… I have never told DC to do anything ever. It just doesn’t work like that. We don’t operate like that.”    

Dana White’s refusal comes right after Alex Pereira accused the UFC of manipulating the matchmaking process for the UFC 334 fight between Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit. 

UFC 320: Ankalaev v Pereira 2 LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 04: Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira fight in their 5-round Light Heavyweight Main Event Title bout at T-Mobile Arena on October 4, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Alejandro Salazar/PXImages Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena Nevada USA Copyright: xAlejandroxSalazarx

During a conversation with Brazilian MMA journalist Laerte Viana, Pereira claimed that he met with UFC CBO Hunter Campbell to discuss why he wasn’t given the rematch with Gane. Campbell apparently told the Brazilian that the UFC conducted an internal poll in which the majority seemingly voted for the Gane vs. Hokit matchup. 

However, Pereira added that no such public poll existed. That led him to believe that the UFC tried to manipulate the process to sideline him from the rematch against Ciryl Gane that he has been pursuing since losing at UFC White House. 

The reporters again asked Dana White whether Alex Pereira was bitter toward the UFC, prompting him to explain that such disputes are a regular occurrence in a promotion with 700 fighters under contract.

“I don’t know. We have over 700 guys under contract, and we talked about two of them being sideways right now. I mean, this is normal when you are in this business. And as you guys… first of all, I have never told Rogan or DC or any of these guys to say anything about anybody, and one of the things that, as a long-time fan of the fight business. I actually can’t stand is the commentators saying negative things about fighters or anything like that. 

“But I don’t tell anybody what to say. I don’t tell the fighters what to say. I don’t tell the commentators what to say. These things just plays out organically in the way that the fights are called and whatever they say when they walk out of here and interview with you guys tonight. We don’t police any of that stuff.”    

This is the first time Alex Pereira has made such a specific allegation against the UFC. However, he had expressed his anger toward the promotion before, particularly last year. 

After losing his 205 lbs title against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March 2025, Pereira expressed his utter disdain for the UFC for reportedly pursuing Jiri Prochazka for a title shot against the Russian. Feeling snubbed for the rematch, he posted an angry message on X. However, ‘Poatan’ later claimed the post was made by a hacker, which raised doubts about his statement.

Pereira finally closed the confusing chapter by confessing that a miscommunication with the UFC prompted him to make that social media post during Ariel Helwani’s show ahead of his UFC 320 rematch with ‘Ankalaev.’ 

Now, a year after that incident, the former two-division champion has once again found himself at odds with the promotion. Even Daniel Cormier has fired back at the allegations against him.  

Daniel Cormier responds to Alex Pereira’s allegations 

Alex Pereira and Daniel Cormier have always maintained a cordial relationship. But after ‘Poatan’ publicly accused him of using his platform to promote the Gane vs. Hokit fight, ‘DC’ sternly responded to the Brazilian. 

“But today, I was given something by Luis: Pereira did an interview, and he said some things, and I think a lot of it is just a bit confusing to me,” Cormier said on his YouTube video. “One, it’s a bout the Josh Hokit-Ciryl Gane fight, but that doesn’t necessarily bother me much at all. It’s not true, though.

“I was not told by the UFC to promote this as the fight to happen. I will tell you why I think that was the fight to happen, after some fact-checking. … Again, I have nothing against Alex Pereira. If anything, I consider him a buddy of mine. We’ve had some great moments, we’ve had some great interviews, we’ve had some great interactions.” 

During the Laerte Viana interview, Pereira didn’t just claim that Cormier promoted the UFC 334 main event on the UFC’s instructions. He also alleged that ‘DC’ once suggested that he wouldn’t become champion even if he defeated Ciryl Gane at UFC White House.

The Louisiana native effectively refuted that claim by playing a video of their previous interview together, stating that the discussion was about Alex Pereira being the GOAT and not the champion.

“Guys, that’s not what happened,” Cormier said. “This was before the White House card, and Alex asked me through Plinio if he won, would he be the GOAT? I didn’t say he wouldn’t be the champ. I said he wouldn’t be the GOAT yet. I’m honest. I don’t lie to these guys. I don’t sugarcoat to these guys. 

“But I said if he was to win, defend the belt, yeah, we’d have the conversation. But I also said, of course, if he beats Ciryl Gane, he’d be the champion.”  

Cormier further indicated in his video that Pereira might be going through a problem of miscommunication once again and he blames the language barrier for it. 

However, as the latest controversy grows, ‘Poatan’ is already set to face Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 in December this year, and it will be interesting to see how his situation with the promotion unfolds.

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