Alexander Volkov Predicts Pereira Will Hit a Losing Streak Against Pavlovich
Volkov says Pavlovich is a nightmare matchup for the former two-division champ at UFC 335 on December 12.
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Alexander Volkov sees trouble ahead for Alex Pereira. The Russian heavyweight told Helen Yee that he expects Pereira to go on a losing streak, starting with Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 on December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, per MMA Sucka.
Volkov called the matchup a very hard test for Pereira, pointing to Pavlovich's knockout power as the key factor. Pavlovich (21-3, 9-3 UFC) is a natural heavyweight with a five-inch reach advantage over Pereira and seven UFC knockouts to his name. He enters the fight on a three-fight win streak, including a 39-second demolition of Tallison Teixeira in May.
Pereira (13-4, 10-3 UFC) is coming off a second-round TKO loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom Fights 250 in June, where he challenged for the interim heavyweight title. The 39-year-old former middleweight and light heavyweight champion has refused to go back down to 205, insisting his future is at heavyweight. He has said the Gane loss included illegal blows to the back of the head and has pushed for a rematch.
The five-round co-main event is the biggest test yet of whether Pereira can compete with elite heavyweights. Pavlovich hits like a truck and has only been stopped once in the UFC. If Pereira can't handle the power differential against a natural heavyweight, the three-division champion dream dies in Vegas.
UFC 335 is headlined by Charles Oliveira versus Diego Lopes for the BMF lightweight title. Odds opened with Pavlovich as a slight favorite at -135, with Pereira at +114, per DraftKings Network.
Volkov is right about one thing: this is the worst possible matchup for Pereira at heavyweight. Pavlovich is everything that made the Gane fight difficult, but with even more raw stopping power. He's a natural 265-pounder who can end your night in under a minute, and he's been doing exactly that on his current streak.
Pereira is a once-in-a-generation talent. What he did at middleweight and light heavyweight was historic. But heavyweight is a different animal. You can't walk through shots from guys who outweigh you by 30 pounds, and the chin that held up at 185 and 205 already cracked against Gane. Pavlovich hits harder than Gane.
I respect the ambition. Chasing a third belt is the kind of audacity that makes Pereira special. But the betting market has him as an underdog for a reason. If Pavlovich clips him early, and he absolutely can, this heavyweight experiment is over. The line at -135 Pavlovich feels about right to me.
