Alex Pereira might not have it easy in his quest to become a three-division UFC champion, according to Francis Ngannou.

The former UFC heavyweight champion makes his return to MMA on the Netflix card as he faces Philipe Lins.

However, he also has his eyes on other fights that the UFC is prepping. One of those is the highly anticipated clash between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane at the Freedom 250 card.

The Brazilian is a former light heavyweight and middleweight champion, and is keen on winning the heavyweight title.

However, Gane is a difficult opponent, at least that is what Ngannou thinks. Gane is a former interim champion, but lost two of the three undisputed title fights that he had.

His last fight was against Tom Apsinall for the heavyweight title. The clash ended in a no-contest after the champion was unable to continue after several eye pokes from Gane.

Ngannou was speaking to Helen Yee and was asked about this fight. ‘The Predator’ didn’t think this matchup was good for the Brazilian:

“I don’t know, I have no idea. I think Ciryl has more tools here, and Alex Pereira has his own style, Ciryl Gane has his own style. For me, and I might be wrong, but this is not a good matchup for Alex Pereira, in terms of style.”

Ngannou further explained why Pereira should be wary of Gane:

“Basically, he is moving up a division and having to face a heavyweight that is lighter than a light heavyweight. Lighter on his feet.”

Ngannou was also asked who he preferred in the matchup, and his prediction was that Gane would win the clash.

Check out Francis Ngannou speaking about Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane from 6:42:

Alex Pereira’s former rival believes Ciryl Gane has great chance to beat Brazilian

It’s not just Francis Ngannou who believes Ciryl Gane can defeat Alex Pereira. Artem Vakhitov, the last man to defeat the Brazilian in kickboxing, has been brought in by Gane for training ahead of the Freedom 250 card.

In a recent interview with Standemup, Vakhitov claimed that Gane has a great chance to defeat Pereira based on the training sessions with the Frenchman:

“Now I think there’s a 70% chance Ciryl Gane beats Alex Pereira. I would say it’s 70/30; of course, Ciryl has the edge. Most importantly, he has everything: speed, endurance, mindset, classic kickboxing, and a sense of distance. It only remains a mental game now, to come out angry and aggressive in this fight, then everything will work out for him, I think.”