Alex Pereira to Face Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335

Alex Pereira is returning to the Octagon and staying at heavyweight. The former two-division champion will make his second appearance in the promotion's heaviest weight class against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 on December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The five-round clash, scheduled as the co-main event, was officially announced on Saturday during the UFC 332 broadcast.

After conquering both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, Pereira moved up to heavyweight in an attempt to become the first three-division champion in UFC history. However, his bid fell short in June when he suffered a knockout loss to reigning heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane at UFC White House. Despite the setback, Pereira remains a major player in the division, and a victory in December could quickly put him back into title contention.

Pavlovich is likewise aiming to secure a path back to championship gold, getting the biggest opportunity of his career against a marquee name like Pereira. The Russian knockout artist fell short in an interim title bout against Tom Aspinall in 2023 and subsequently dropped a decision to Alexander Volkov. Since then, Pavlovich has rebounded with three consecutive wins, including a knockout of Tallison Teixeira in May.

More matchups for the UFC 335 fight card are expected to be announced in the coming days.