Alex Pereira gets his next assignment as Dana White announces UFC 335's co-main event

Alex Pereira has his next assignment.
The former two-division UFC champion is set to face Sergei Pavlovich in a five-round heavyweight co-main event at UFC 335 on Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC CEO Dana White announced the matchup during Saturday night’s UFC 332 broadcast.
The matchup keeps Pereira at heavyweight following his failed bid at UFC Freedom 250 to become the first three-weight champion in promotional history.
Pereira (13-4) suffered a second-round knockout loss at the hands of Ciryl Gane this past June on the White House’s South Lawn — a bout that crowned Gane as the division’s interim champion, and eventually its undisputed champion following Tom Aspinall’s decision to vacate. Pereira pushed for an immediate rematch with Gane, arguing that the Frenchman won using illegal strikes to the back of the head, however the UFC ultimately booked Gane to defend his heavyweight title against Josh Hokit on Nov. 14 at UFC 334.
Considering the uncertain state of the UFC heavyweight division amid Aspinall’s extended injury absence, a win could quickly put “Poatan” back in position to challenge for UFC gold.
Pavlovich (21-3) enters UFC 335 on a three-fight win streak, capped off by a highlight-reel 39-second knockout of Tallison Teixeira in May. The Russian slugger also picked up decision victories over Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Waldo Cortes-Acosta in his latest run.
Pavlovich previously challenged Aspinall for the interim heavyweight title in November 2023, losing by knockout in 69 seconds.
A main event for UFC 335 has yet to be announced, although a matchup between UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland and Nassourdine Imavov has been rumored for the card.
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