Pereira Vows Heavyweight Exit if Pavlovich Beats Him at UFC 335

Alex Pereira's heavyweight experiment has an expiry date, and the Brazilian set it himself. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, the 39-year-old said a second straight heavyweight defeat — this one at the hands of Sergei Pavlovich in the UFC 335 co-main event on December 12 — would end his run at 265 pounds for good.

"If I lose, I'm not going to stay at heavyweight," Pereira said. "Everyone knows I'm lighter than all those heavyweights. So I'm not going to keep trying to match their strength when I could do something else and be better off."

Pereira was a two-time light heavyweight champion before vacating the belt to move up, and the size gap has been real. He weighed 251 pounds for his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 in June, where Gane stopped him in the second round of their interim title fight. For Pavlovich, he plans to come in around 240 pounds, betting that mobility matters more than mass against one of the division's most dangerous punchers.

The Brazilian also vented frustration during the interview, saying he had expected to fight Gane or Josh Hokit — the latter a matchup he viewed as "much easier" — before the UFC offered Pavlovich, who is riding a three-fight win streak and knocked out Tallison Teixeira in the first round in May. A win keeps Pereira in the title conversation, with the winner of Gane versus Hokit at UFC 334 waiting. A loss sends him back to 205 pounds, where a familiar belt could be on the table.