Pereira Confirms Heavyweight Exit If He Loses At UFC 335

Alex Pereira will leave the heavyweight division for good if Sergei Pavlovich hands him a second loss at 265 pounds when they meet at UFC 335 in December.

The 39-year-old former two-division champion told Ariel Helwani this week that another defeat would end his heavyweight experiment, per MMA Mania. "If I lose, I'm not going to stay at heavyweight," he said. "Everyone knows I'm lighter than all those heavyweights. So I'm not going to keep trying to match their strength when I could do something else and be better off."

Pereira dropped his heavyweight debut to Ciryl Gane earlier this year, a loss he later attributed to illegal strikes and poor officiating. Rather than retreat to light heavyweight immediately, he accepted a second assignment against Pavlovich, the Russian knockout artist who formerly challenged for the interim title.

A return to 205 pounds would put Pereira back in range of current champion Carlos Ulberg, one of the few top contenders he has not already fought. Pereira ruled the light heavyweight division before moving up and defeated most of the ranked roster during his title reign.

UFC 335 takes place in Las Vegas this December. Pereira vs Pavlovich serves as the co-main event.