WOODBURY – On June 14 Alex Pereira will be fighting Ciryl Gane in the white house in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. It is rumored to be the biggest event in the history of the UFC. 

Many Nonnewaug students, such as junior Maddox Poythress, are looking forward to watching the fight.

“I love Pereira,” said Maddox Poythress, NHS junior and avid UFC fan. “Knowing he lives a few towns over is awesome. I hope one day I run into him. I hope he wins this month. I can’t wait to watch it.” 

Pereira trains in downtown Bethel and Danbury, alongside former UFC Champion Glover Teixeira at Teixeira Gym & MMA. This makes pro fighting feel more real for Nonnewaug students.      

Some have even gone to the gym, including Junior Elliot Shugrue.

“It was a crazy atmosphere,” Shugrue said. “I got to do some classes, and it was great; I learned so much in that hour of class. I would definitely recommend doing it, it’s great for martial arts and also just fitness.”

Shugrue has spent a lot of his life training, starting with his dad when he was 8. 

Other students, such as Rocco Varrone, would love an opportunity to do something like this.

“Even doing it just once would be great,” Varrone said. “If I could go once to just learn some things from those legends it would be unreal, and being able to share the mat with them would be a total honor. I’ve. I’ve grown up watching Pereira and Teixeira, and the fact that they are so close is pretty surreal.”

Both Shugrue and Varrone are looking forward to watching the fight.

“I remember watching Pereira vs Ankalaev a few months back,” Shugrue said. “Seeing him reclaim the belt as a heavy underdog meant the world to MMA fans like me. This fight in specific should be great, just because of it being at the White House and how many people will be there.”

Shugrue adds that Pereira is going for ‘GOAT’ status.

“Pereira is looking to become the first 3 division champ,” Shugrue added. “He has won the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight and now tries for the Heavyweight belt against Cyril Gane next weekend.  I seriously can’t wait.” 

This is Pereira’s first fight at heavyweight, after spending a few years at light heavyweight and also a couple of years at middleweight before. He looks to become the first UFC fighter to win a belt in 3 different divisions. 

Varrone shares his faith in Pereira to bring it home for Connecticut.

“I think Alex [Pereira] gets the job done,” Varrone said. “He has won some huge fights in his career, and Gane is just another guy stepping up to lose. I don’t see Pereira losing this fight. I have him knocking out Gane in the second round.”

According to ESPN, Pereira is a -130 underdog, and Gane is a slight underdog of +110.

Unlike Varrone, some view Pereira as an underdog, including Jackson Demers.

“I don’t see Pereira going home victoriously,” Demers said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Pereira, but Gane is going to ragdoll him, and also, it’s Pereira’s first fight at heavyweight. But I might be wrong, I love Pereira. I thought he had zero chance against [Magomed] Ankalaev, but he knocked him out in 90 seconds.”

On June 14th it all goes down, to watch the fight, tune in on Paramount+ for all streaming access to witness Danbury history.