Bloodied Alex Pereira KNOCKED OUT by Ciryl Gane in huge UFC White House upset as historic win & Aspinall fight fade away

ALEX PEREIRA’s bid to further write his name into the UFC history books fell flat on its face at the White House with a brutal knockout defeat to Ciryl Gane. The Brazilian threw down with Gane for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event of this morning‘s card at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Pereira, 38, entered the Washington war with three-division champion status and a showdown with Tom Aspinall within touching distance. But Gane stopped the fan favourite’s bid for immortality with a stunning second-round KO to earn a rematch with Brit Aspinall, whom he fought to a no-contest last October. Pereira nearly took Gane’s head off with a big switch kick straight off the bat and did so again from the opposite stance a few seconds later. Both men then threw out numerous feints to try to bait the other into making a mistake. READ MORE UFC NEWS Gane’s jab eventually started to get through, as did his attempts to fake a takedown. The Frenchman checked the chin of Pereira with a looping overhand left with just over a minute of the stanza remaining, but his man took it well. Pereira returned the favour seconds before the end of the first with a hard straight right. Pereira, seemingly buoyed by that right late in the first, looked to press forward after the restart. Most read in Sport SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET UP TO £100 BONUS He plodded forward in a bid to close the distance and land his trademark left hook. But Gane made him pay for his telegraphed entries by timing him with a piston jab. Pereira buckled and Gane went in for the kill, landing a series of heavy shots on his grounded opponent. Pereira, somehow, managed to get back to his feet – where he ate punishing shot after punishing shot. Referee Herb Dean gave the fan favourite every opportunity to recover. But recover he could as Gane continued to land head-snapping blows, which prompted Dean to call a halt to proceedings.