Dana White has dismissed the fouling criticism hanging over Ciryl Gane — hours before the Frenchman makes the first defense of his undisputed heavyweight title against Josh Hokit at UFC 334 in New York.
“He had already done the damage to Pereira at that time.”
"I did see the illegal blows during the fight at the White House," White said in an interview with Stefan Struve for Eurosport. "But at that time, I didn't think, 'Oh my god, that's why the fight was won.' He had already done the damage to Pereira at that time."
Asked whether the incident was overblown because of the eye pokes against Tom Aspinall, White answered: "Definitely."
And asked whether it overshadows Gane as a fighter, White was blunt: "It doesn't. Everyone knows he's good."
The controversy follows Gane into Madison Square Garden. In June, on the White House lawn, Gane knocked out Alex Pereira in the second round to win the interim heavyweight title — but Pereira left furious, saying there were numerous shots to the back of his head and that the result would have been different without them.
It was not the first time. At UFC 321 last October, Gane's heavyweight title fight with then-champion Tom Aspinall ended at 4:35 of the first round after Gane's eye poke — or pokes — left Aspinall unable to continue, and the bout was ruled a no contest. Aspinall kept the title that night, but the damage lingered: multiple surgeries, infections and persistent vision problems followed, and in September he vacated the championship after a setback in his recovery. Gane, who had won the interim title against Pereira, was promoted to undisputed champion.
That sequence has branded Gane in some corners. Bloody Elbow reports he has been branded a "cheater" by some, having gained a reputation for fouling inside the octagon — and notes that years before the Pereira controversy, the Frenchman was accused of similar illegal strikes during his victory over UFC legend Junior dos Santos. Hokit has leaned into it, posting skits of himself training for eye pokes during his UFC 334 fight camp.
White is having none of it. His position, delivered the day of the fight, is that the Pereira win was already decided before the illegal blows landed — and that one bad night of optics does not define the champion.
Gane, 36 and 14-2 with one no contest, puts the undisputed title on the line for the first time on Saturday night. Hokit, undefeated at 10-0 with four UFC wins in the last 12 months, earned the shot with a knockout of Derrick Lewis in June — on the same card where Gane stopped Pereira. The co-main event sees women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison defend against Amanda Nunes. The main card begins at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on Paramount+.
