Alex Pereira calls Gane's win over Hokit a 'robbery': 'I thought Hokit won the fight'

Former two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira says Josh Hokit was robbed at UFC 334. Pereira watched from cageside at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, November 14, as Ciryl Gane kept the UFC heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Hokit, 48-47 on all three scorecards. In a backstage video recorded by Vevy Rodrigues and posted on Instagram, Pereira made it clear he disagreed with the judges.

"I thought it was a robbery, man," Pereira said, as quoted by MMA Mania and Bloody Elbow. "I thought Hokit won the fight, for sure. Gane didn't do anything. I wanted Gane to win, but come on. Not like that. That's a bit much, right? Unless I was watching a different fight, man. Really? That's crazy."

'Call the police'

Pereira also made a joke of it in a second clip shared online, pretending to call the police from the arena. "Call the police! Call the police!" he said, according to MMA Mania. "Hello, can you come down to Madison Square Garden? Yeah, there's a robbery happening right now."

Knockout Daily and Bloody Elbow reported that broadcast cameras showed Pereira shaking his head and turning to his coach, Plinio Cruz, as the scores were read out.

Handshake with Hokit backstage

The biggest surprise came backstage, when Pereira ran into Hokit. Pereira spoke in Portuguese and Cruz translated. In the clip, as quoted by Knockout Daily, Pereira told him: "Hey bro. Chama, congrats my brother. For me, you won." Hokit replied: "Best of luck in your fight. Chama." The two then shook hands.

That moment stood out because of the bad blood between them. Hokit spent months trash-talking Pereira, and at the UFC 334 pre-fight press conference on Thursday he flipped off the Brazilian, who was sitting in the front row. Pereira also has history with Gane: the Frenchman knocked him out at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House in June, and Pereira has argued that the finishing sequence included illegal shots to the back of the head.

Not everyone agrees

The decision split opinion. Many fans online scored the fight for Hokit, and the crowd booed when the result was announced, according to Sportskeeda. Others saw it as close but correct. Bloody Elbow wrote that Hokit's forward pressure swayed many fans, while Gane did more damage with his strikes. Officially, Gane landed 237 significant strikes to Hokit's 146, a combined 383 and a new UFC heavyweight record for a single fight. The bout earned Fight of the Night.

It was the first loss of Hokit's professional career, dropping him to 10-1, while Gane moved to 15-2. Hokit has asked for an immediate rematch. "Immediate rematch," he wrote after the fight. "Please." There has been no official word on what is next for the heavyweight title.

What's next for Pereira

Pereira (13-4) is back in action next month. He faces Sergei Pavlovich in the five-round co-main event of UFC 335 on December 12 in Las Vegas. MMA Mania noted that UFC CEO Dana White has repeatedly said a fight between Hokit and Pereira would be massive, so the new respect between the two may not last long.

According to Bloody Elbow, a win over Pavlovich could also put Pereira back in line for a rematch with Gane.