New interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane was praised by Daniel Cormier following an outstanding performance at UFC Freedom 250.

In the co-main event of the UFC White House card, Gane finished Alex Pereira via second-round TKO to capture the interim heavyweight strap and set himself up for a big rematch later this year against UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.

In the wake of the fight, Gane has been criticized by Pereira, who believes he cheated by striking him in the back of the head before the finish.

But while there may have been some shots to the back of Pereira’s head, Gane is still the champion today, and he was praised by Cormier in the wake of his victory.

Daniel Cormier Praises Ciryl Gane

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Cormier had nothing but good things to say about Gane following his career-best knockout win over Pereira at the UFC White House event.

“Alex Pereira dared to be great. He dared to dream. Unfortunately it didn’t go his way. Ciryl Gane is the real deal. I don’t understand why, for so long, we have all tried to bypass Ciryl Gane as one of the best heavyweights, if not the best heavyweight in the world. He has told you time and time again he belongs. He’s told us time and time again, ‘I’ve earned my opportunity, that I’ve earned my chances to get these title fights. Nothing’s given, nobody gave me anything.’ He showed once again why he is so highly regarded in this division, finishing Alex Pereira in a standup fight,” Cormier said (h/t MMAjunkie.com).

“What Ciryl Gane did beautifully, though, was he showed him takedowns, he showed him wrestling, and by doing that, he was able to get Pereira thinking about all of his skills. We said before the fight that if Ciryl showed up like he did against Tom Aspinall, Pereira would have problems. He showed up like that. Many people on the inside were actually picking Ciryl Gane and thought he was a pretty big favorite. But that’s not to discredit Pereira. Pereira did something that most people would not even imagine trying to do, and that’s trying to become a three-division champion.”

Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane 2 is Next

After beating Pereira to take the interim heavyweight belt, Gane will next take on Aspinall in a rematch to unify the UFC heavyweight titles.

These two met last fall at UFC 321, when Gane poked Aspinall in the eyes, ending the fight prematurely due to a No Contest. Aspinall has not fought since then due to the eye injuries he suffered during the contest, though he is said to finally be returning to training to make his UFC comeback this fall.

Gane called out Aspinall to fight at UFC Paris in September, and the champ accepted the challenge. But since that’s a Fight Night card and not a numbered UFC event, it feels like the promotion will try to book the rematch for another event later this year.

Either way, the rematch is next, and after Gane knocked Pereira out, it will certainly be interesting to see how he performs against Aspinall the second time around.