Former two-time UFC champion Alex Pereira will face heavyweight contender Sergei Pavlovich in a five-round co-main event at UFC 335 on Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Dana White announced the fight during UFC 332 on Saturday, according to Yahoo Sports.
Pereira, 39, vacated his light heavyweight title in February to pursue an unprecedented third UFC championship but suffered a knockout loss to current heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane in his heavyweight debut at UFC Freedom 250 in June. A win would put the former middleweight and light heavyweight champion back in title contention. Pavlovich, ranked No. 2 at heavyweight, sits one spot ahead of Pereira at No. 3.
Pereira Vs. Pavlovich Matchup
Pereira (13-4) seeks his second heavyweight fight after his TKO loss to Gane. The 39-year-old has won titles at middleweight and light heavyweight but must get back on track at 205 pounds and above to return to title contention.
Pavlovich (21-3), 34, is a former interim heavyweight title challenger who lost to Tom Aspinall in 2023. Since then, he has won three straight fights with power-based victories: knockouts of Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Waldo Cortes Acosta, plus a 39-second stoppage of Tallison Teixeira in May.
The UFC 335 Card
Charles Oliveira headlines by defending his BMF lightweight title against Diego Lopes in the main event. Oliveira won the belt at UFC 326 in March, scoring takedowns in all five rounds against Max Holloway in a unanimous decision. Lopes, a two-time featherweight title challenger, makes his UFC lightweight debut after losses only to current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and top contender Movsar Evloev.
When And Where
UFC 335 takes place Saturday, Dec. 12, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The card streams on Paramount+. The event concludes the year four weeks after UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 14.
Reporting from ESPN, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and UFC.com contributed to this story.
