Former two-weight-class champion Alex Pereira returns on December 12 at UFC 335 in Las Vegas. The Brazilian fighter takes on Sergei Pavlovich in a 5-round co-main event in the heavyweight division. The fight takes place at the T-Mobile Arena and is part of the main card.
The fight was announced moments ago. Pereira is currently ranked third in the UFC Meta rankings. Meanwhile, Pavlovich features in both the Meta and Media rankings, holding second and third place, respectively.
[ LIVE DEC 12 on @ParamountPlus ]
Back For Revenge
Alex Pereira is currently one of the superstars in the UFC. The former middleweight and light-heavyweight champion vacated his title earlier this year to chase a third title in a higher weight class. Pereira took on Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title in June this year. Pereira lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Months after the fight, Pereira and many fight fans were still talking about the controversy in the fight.
Gane landed several illegal blows to the back of the head during the ground-and-pound finish against Pereira, but referee Herb Dean failed to intervene. In response, Pereira went on a social media tirade against Dean and demanded a rematch. However, the UFC went a different direction. Since champion Tom Aspinall recently vacated his belt due to ongoing injuries, Gane was promoted to undisputed champion and booked to defend his title against Josh Hokit. Pereira must now defeat Sergei Pavlovich to earn another title shot.
Russian Rockets
Pavlovich might be one of the most underrated fighters in the heavyweight division. The Russian fighter lost his debut in the UFC in 2018 but went on a six-fight winning streak after that with four “Performance of the Night” bonuses and finishes over Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes. It earned him a shot at the interim title in 2023 against Tom Aspinall. Pavlovich fought wild and got caught in the first round. The Russian fighter came back seven months later but was outclassed by countryman Alexander Volkov via unanimous decision. A big setback for the Russian fighter, losing two fights in a row.
At the beginning of last year, Pavlovich finally bounced back with a unanimous decision win against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. He went on to beat Waldo Cortes Acosta also via unanimous decision and hoped to finally get a step up in competition again. The UFC decided differently and booked him against the lower-ranked Tallison Teixeira earlier this year. Pavlovich showed levels and knocked out Teixeira within 39 seconds. With a three-fight winning streak, he now takes on Alex Pereira. A win could be enough to fight for the title next.
UFC 335 – Las Vegas (December 12)
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alex Pereira
- Brandon Moreno vs. Charles Oliveira
The Return of Alex Pereira is Set for UFC 335 in Las Vegas