Pereira Prepares for Pavlovich at UFC 335 as Adesanya Questions the Gamble
Alex Pereira expects wrestling from Pavlovich at UFC 335, while Israel Adesanya says he should have gone back to 205.
Alex Pereira expects Sergei Pavlovich to open with heavy hands and then switch to wrestling if his power shots miss at UFC 335 on December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
"I think against me, maybe he might think, I'm going to unleash the machine gun and knock this guy out," Pereira (13-4) told Connect Cast. He added that if Pavlovich "can't land his shots, he might try to wrestle me to wear me out."
Pavlovich (21-3) has looked sharp in his recent return, finishing Tallison Teixeira in 39 seconds for his third straight win. The co-main event at UFC 335 could be a problem for Pereira if Pavlovich mixes in takedowns with his firepower.
Pereira is coming off a stoppage loss to Ciryl Gane in an interim heavyweight title bout at UFC Freedom 250 in June. Instead of returning to light heavyweight, he accepted the Pavlovich fight, a decision that has drawn criticism from his former rival.
Israel Adesanya said on the Precision podcast that Pereira should have moved back to 205 after the Gane loss. "He was gonna go to 205. That made sense," Adesanya said, per Sherdog. Adesanya also took issue with Pereira publicly stating he would drop back to light heavyweight if he loses to Pavlovich. "I don't like putting that out there," Adesanya said.
Gane, meanwhile, is scheduled to defend the heavyweight title against Josh Hokit at UFC 334 in November.
Adesanya is right on this one, and I don't say that often. Pereira at 205 is a monster. Pereira at heavyweight is a guy who just got stopped by Gane and is now fighting a Russian wrecking ball with legitimate wrestling.
The "I'll go back to 205 if I lose" plan tells you everything. Pereira already has one foot out the heavyweight door. That's not the mindset of a guy ready to fight Sergei Pavlovich, who finished his last opponent in 39 seconds.
I'll be at T-Mobile for this one, and I'm expecting fireworks. But Pereira needs to commit to one lane. You can't half-heartedly campaign at heavyweight and then treat light heavyweight as your safety net. Either you're a heavyweight or you're not.
