Alex Pereira is making adjustments ahead of his second heavyweight appearance, but the former two-division UFC champion has also made it clear that he will not stick around if things stop going his way.
Pereira will face Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event of UFC 335 in December, with a potential title shot on the line. The winner could move closer to challenging for the heavyweight championship, depending on the outcome of the title fight between Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit.
However, Pereira’s first attempt at heavyweight did not go according to plan. The Brazilian suffered a TKO loss to Gane in their interim heavyweight title fight at UFC Freedom 250 in June, falling short of his goal of becoming the UFC’s first three-division champion.
The defeat also raised questions about whether Pereira had the size and endurance to compete with the division’s bigger fighters. Ahead of UFC 335, ‘Poatan’ plans to enter the Octagon at a lighter weight as he prepares to face Pavlovich’s dangerous power.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Pereira revealed that he intends to weigh around 240 pounds for the fight.
“I’ll be lighter, around 240 [pounds]. I just feel that I’ve gotta be a little lighter,” Pereira said. “I thought about [returning to light heavyweight], but I’m a very competitive guy. The original plan was to stay at heavyweight and fight all of these guys. When I was training for the Gane fight, we had a guy in camp who fought Pavlovich and lost. Everybody was saying Pavlovich is a machine.
“The plan is to stay at heavyweight, but you never know,” Pereira continued. “I’m not going to be the guy trying to go too much with these heavyweights if I have a different option.”
Before moving up to heavyweight, Pereira established himself as one of the UFC’s most dangerous light heavyweights, scoring notable victories over Magomed Ankalaev, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr. He will now look to prove that he can compete with the heavyweight division’s elite.
While Pereira remains focused on making history in a third division, the 39-year-old has also admitted that he will not continue fighting if his results begin to decline.
The Brazilian has lost two of his last three fights, including his heavyweight debut against Gane. After splitting two fights with Ankalaev, Pereira left the light heavyweight division in 2025 to pursue his ambition of becoming a three-division UFC champion.
