Alex Pereira says he'll go back down to light heavyweight if he loses to Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335.
Pereira, a former light heavyweight and middleweight champion, is scheduled to make his second heavyweight appearance against Pavlovich in the Dec. 12 co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Pereira moved up to face Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title in June at the White House but suffered a second-round TKO loss. If he comes up short again, the 39-year-old Brazilian said that would be the end of his heavyweight stint.
"I'd go back to light heavyweight. I think that would be the ideal thing to do," Pereira said in Portuguese on the "Connect Cast" podcast.
"Everyone knows I'm not as heavy as those heavyweights. So, I'm not going to stay there taking a beating with that disadvantage. I'd go back to my division, where I was already well adapted."
Pereira reclaimed the light heavyweight title with a first-round knockout of Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320 in October 2025, but he vacated the belt four months later to try to become the first three-division champion in the promotion's history.
After Pereira left the division, Carlos Ulberg knocked out Jiri Prochazka to claim the vacant 205-pound strap at UFC 327 in April. Ulberg tore his ACL in the bout and has yet to make his first defense.
Pereira said he'd fight for the title right away if he returned to light heavyweight.
"It would be for the belt," Pereira said.
