Alex Pereira says heavyweight is not a permanent home if his UFC 335 co-main event against Sergei Pavlovich goes wrong. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show on Wednesday, Pereira said, “The plan is to stay at heavyweight, but you never know.”
Pereira faces Pavlovich in a five-round heavyweight bout on December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, below the Charles Oliveira vs. Diego Lopes BMF title fight. He opened as an underdog to Pavlovich.
Pereira said he considered dropping back to 205 pounds, where he left his light heavyweight title, but his competitive side won out. If the heavyweight run doesn’t work, he said, he won’t keep forcing it when he has another option, and he doesn’t want to become a stepping stone for anyone.
He also plans to look different. Pereira said he will weigh around 240 pounds, about 10 pounds lighter than the 251 he carried for his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 in June. Gane stopped him in the second round of that interim title fight.
Pereira pushed back on doubts about his durability after that loss, calling people who say he can’t take a punch “idiots.” He also stuck to his claim that Gane landed illegal strikes in the finish, a complaint he has aimed at referee Herb Dean since the fight.
Why Pavlovich, and what a win does
Pavlovich is on a three-fight winning streak and stopped Tallison Teixeira in the first round at UFC Macau in May. Pereira said Teixeira was in his camp for the Gane fight when he lost to Pavlovich, and that he planned to call out Pavlovich after beating Gane. The UFC offered the matchup instead after Pereira’s hopes of a Gane rematch went nowhere.
A win would put Pereira back in the heavyweight title conversation as Gane and Josh Hokit prepare to meet at UFC 334. A loss would leave him 0-2 at heavyweight. UFC 335 streams live on Paramount+.