Pereira accuses UFC of manufacturing support for Gane-Hokit

Alex Pereira has accused the UFC of manufacturing public support for Ciryl Gane’s scheduled heavyweight title fight against Josh Hokit, saying the promotion told him a poll favored the matchup and that influential figures were encouraged to endorse it. Pereira said he had not seen the poll. The claims were made in an interview with Laerte Viana and have not been independently established in the reports reviewed. Pereira said he expected an immediate rematch with Gane after their earlier fight, which he has criticized over alleged illegal blows to the back of his head. Instead, Gane is scheduled to defend the heavyweight title against Hokit at UFC 334 on November 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Pereira is scheduled to fight Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 on December 12. Pereira said the UFC told him it had conducted a poll indicating that fans wanted Gane to face Hokit, but he did not see its results. He also alleged that Daniel Cormier and other people with large audiences were prompted to praise the bout before its announcement, so the public would accept it. The reports provide no poll record or direct confirmation from the UFC or the people Pereira said were approached.