Tallison Teixeira says Alex Pereira ‘hurts you wherever he lands,’ will knock out Ciryl Gane at UFC White House

Tallison Teixeira, the UFC's tallest heavyweight at 6'7", has spent recent weeks sparring with Alex Pereira ahead of "Poatan's" heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane at UFC White House on June 14. Working alongside Pereira and his coaching staff in Connecticut—including former light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira—the Brazilian fighter gained firsthand experience with Pereira's devastating striking power, even as he prepared for his own bout at UFC Macau, which he ultimately lost to Sergei Pavlovich.

Based on his time in the gym with Pereira, Teixeira is convinced the 85% knockout artist will dominate the interim heavyweight title fight. "He really hurts you wherever he lands," Teixeira told MMA Fighting. "Even though I know none of the sparring sessions were for real, at 100 percent, wherever he puts his hands he starts breaking you down. He's the kind of guy who suffocates you round after round." Teixeira emphasized that only those who have faced Pereira in person can appreciate the pressure and technical superiority he brings to the cage.

Pereira has stopped champions including Israel Adesanya, Magomed Ankalaev, Jiri Prochazka, Sean Strickland and Jamahal Hill across multiple weight classes, establishing himself as a legitimate threat to become the UFC's first-ever three-division champion. Gane, meanwhile, has finished opponents in nearly 70% of his victories with knockouts and submissions, earning recognition as one of the division's premier strikers.

Still, Teixeira sees a clear gap. "I don't believe this fight goes to a decision," he said. "Alex has way more tools to get a knockout. Gane is very good and a guy I respect—if not the best striker in the division—but Alex is something different. He's on another level." With Pereira's track record of finishing fights and Teixeira's assessment of his raw power, expectations are high for a knockout finish in Washington, DC.