Glover Teixeira backs Alex Pereira’s bounce-back after officiating controversy, says Josh Hokit is the right type of test

Alex Pereira is heading into the next phase of his UFC heavyweight run with unfinished business, and Glover Teixeira believes the former champion will handle it by taking the right kind of fight. Teixeira, speaking in the wake of Pereira’s loss at UFC Freedom 250, said he expects Pereira to rebound decisively and suggested that a matchup like Josh Hokit’s would suit that moment. The underlying idea, as Teixeira presented it, is that Pereira needs a clear path back to dominance rather than lingering in frustration over how his last fight ended.

At UFC Freedom 250, Pereira was stopped by Ciryl Gane in an interim heavyweight title bout. The finish came in Round 2 via TKO, with Pereira’s frustration centered on the way referee Herb Dean handled the end of the fight. According to the report, Pereira believed Dean missed multiple shots to the back of his head during the fight-ending sequence, and he tied that officiating to why the stoppage came when it did.

Teixeira’s comments also spoke to the psychology of high-level MMA. In the same discussion, he framed Pereira’s stance as something that can be converted into urgency, not distraction. Teixeira emphasized his “utmost confidence” that Pereira will bounce back, making clear that he views the criticism and the disappointment as fuel rather than a stopping point.

The veteran’s most pointed praise, though, went to the concept of Josh Hokit as an opponent. Teixeira described Hokit as a “good fight” for Pereira, and he used language that conveyed confidence that Pereira would deliver a decisive outcome. While the report does not outline a full booking path or timetable, Teixeira’s endorsement places Hokit in a practical role: a credible heavyweight test that can help Pereira reassert control in the division.

Context matters in the heavyweight picture. With interim title stakes involved at UFC Freedom 250, Pereira’s next performance will be scrutinized not just as a win-loss result but as a report about his status and readiness to re-enter the main title conversation. A convincing response can change how quickly the sport’s decision-makers return a fighter to the center of the championship mix, especially after a fight where officiating became part of the story.

There is also a broader officiating and safety element in what Pereira publicly raised. When fighters dispute missed shots and the timing of stoppages, it can shape how referees are perceived across future bouts, even if the sport does not publicly revisit every decision. For Pereira, the takeaway is personal and technical: he believes the sequence that led to the TKO was affected by what he saw as inadequate acknowledgment of specific impacts.

What to watch next is whether Pereira’s camp translates the confidence Teixeira expressed into a clear plan for his next heavyweight appearance. If a Hokit-type test is indeed part of the path, the focus will likely be on how Pereira starts early, whether he forces exchanges rather than conceding momentum, and how he manages the kind of late-fight moments that can turn on referee timing. For now, Teixeira has offered a straightforward message, Pereira should not just recover from the loss, he should make the rematch-and-title conversation feel inevitable. “],

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