Dana White says no one tells Daniel Cormier what to say after Alex Pereira's claims

Dana White is not buying Alex Pereira's theory.

Pereira said earlier this week that the UFC used commentators and other voices with big followings to warm fans up to Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit for the heavyweight title instead of giving him a rematch. He named Daniel Cormier as one of them.

'Of course that's not true'

White answered the claim Tuesday night after the Contender Series season finale in Las Vegas. "Of course that's not true," White said. "These guys are the most paranoid people on the planet."

"I've never told DC to do anything, ever," he added. "It doesn't work like that. We don't operate like that."

White said he does not tell fighters or commentators what to say and that the calls play out "organically." He noted the UFC has more than 700 fighters under contract and said having two of them unhappy at the same time is normal in the fight business. Middleweight champion Sean Strickland has also been airing complaints about the promotion.

Cormier's side

Cormier had already denied the claim on his YouTube channel. "I was not told by the UFC to promote this as the fight to happen," he said. He called Pereira one of the best fighters in a very long time and a friend and chalked up the dispute to "a miscommunication and a language barrier."

Cormier said Hokit earned the title shot with wins over Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. He also said Pereira would deserve to face the winner if he beats Sergei Pavlovich.

What's next

Gane defends the heavyweight title against Hokit at UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden next month. Pereira faces Pavlovich in the co-main event of UFC 335 in Las Vegas on Dec. 12.