Alex Pereira Will Leave Heavyweight If He Loses to Pavlovich at UFC 335
Pereira tells Ariel Helwani he is done chasing heavyweights if the Pavlovich fight goes south.
Alex Pereira has drawn a line in the sand. The former UFC light heavyweight and middleweight champion told Ariel Helwani that a loss to Sergei Pavlovich in the UFC 335 co-main event in Las Vegas this December would end his heavyweight experiment 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, 39, moved up to heavyweight after clearing out the light heavyweight division but ran into a brick wall against Ciryl Gane, who handed him a brutal beating. He is 13-4 overall and has maintained that the Gane loss was not a reflection of his ceiling at 265 pounds, but concedes the size disadvantage is real.
A loss to Pavlovich, the Russian power puncher, would likely send Pereira back to 205, where current champion Carlos Ulberg is one of the few contenders he has not already beaten. Ulberg is currently recovering from an injury, per Yahoo Sports.
The question is whether Pereira would return at all. He has been fighting professionally since 2014 and turns 40 next year. Either way, UFC 335 just became must-watch television.
I get why Pereira is hedging. The man gave up a division he owned to chase something nobody expected him to chase, and the Gane fight showed the cost of spotting heavyweights 30 pounds. But here is the thing: Pavlovich is hittable. He is dangerous early but he fades, and Pereira's timing and precision are still elite. If Poatan catches him clean in the first two rounds, this fight ends violently in his favor.
The smart money might actually be on Pereira here, depending on the line. And if he wins, the road to Gane vs. Hokit winner suddenly has a very interesting third option. If he loses, going back to 205 to fight Carlos Ulberg is not exactly a consolation prize. That is a massive fight. Pereira has options either way, and that is a luxury most fighters at 39 do not have.
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