UFC 335 got a big addition this weekend with the news breaking that Alex Pereira would be fighting Sergei Pavlovich. That’s scheduled to go down on December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. The headliner for that event will be a BMF title fight between Charles Oliveira and Diego Lopes.
Pereira returns to the heavyweight division in December, despite former champ and current UFC commentator Daniel Cormier advising that Poatan go back down to 205 lbs. And DC isn’t the only former champ/UFC talking head
who thinks this is a bad move for Pereira.
Michael Bisping took to his YouTube channel to express his concerns over the match-up. Bisping’s main concern wasn’t the weightclass, though, it was the opponent.
“I’m a fan of Alex Pereira, but I tell the truth,” prefaced Bisping. “People think I’m a hater. I’m not a hater. Now, he’s fighting Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 325. And the question is, could this be the end of Alex Pereira? I’m not saying it is. And there is world where he even wins this fight.”
Bisping went on to say that if Pereira beats Pavlovich then he would be in prime position to take on the winner of Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit, who are due to fight for the belt at MSG in November.
‘The Count’ then said that was a “big if.”
“Pereira’s style is kind of flatfooted,” he said. “Yes, he has ridiculous power and he’s given us some spectacular knockouts with the left hook … every shot he throws has ridiculous power, but he’s not nice and light on his feet. He’s not sprightly. He’s not on his toes. He’s not overly agile. He goes forwards, he gets the rhythm and BANG, one shot puts people to sleep. That’s all well and good when you’re at middleweight and you’re towering over your opposition. And, for the most part, the same thing at light heavyweight. But at heavyweight … that’s not quite as effective.”
Bisping reasoned that heavyweight opponents would be able to absorb more of Perieira’s power than the Brazilian’s past opponents could. Bisping also said heavyweight opponents, like Pavovlich, are naturally very large and haven’t had to bulk up like Pereira has.
Bisping then echoed what his fellow fighter turned broadcaster Cormier said about Pereira possibly retiring if he gets KO’d again. Bisping said he could see that happening and also he thought there was a real possibility that Pavlovich delivers that career-ending KO.
“Sergei Pavlovich [has] twenty-one wins [and] sixteen by way of knockout. Now, granted, he did lose a couple. He lost to Alexander Volkov by decision and he was also knocked out against Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight belt. But before that, this man was knocking everyone out.”
Bisping also added his voice to the chorus of people wishing Pereira would go down to what he saw as his ‘sweet-spot’ at 205 lbs. And Bisping also cautioned that a loss to Pavlovich would put him far outside of the title picture at heavyweight. That led Bisping to wonder, aloud, whether money would be enough to keep Pereira around.
“He gets paid handsomely, right? Very very handsomely. I don’t know the number, but it’s definitely more than $5 million per fight.”
Pereira is likely one of the highest paid fighters in the promotion. I say likely, since unlike any other top sport on the planet, athlete salaries are a closely guarded secrets here. A big reason why he’s likely been paid so well (or ‘handsomely’) is that he’s been so active.
Pereira only joined UFC in 2021, but in five years he has speed-run a Hall of Fame career that includes winning the middleweight title and the light heavyweight title (twice). His three title defences in 2024 represent a level of activity that puts most other champions to shame. Pereira has also been able to leverage his star power for big pay days, like at the White House this summer.
Pereira’s star-power and earning potential have all been boosted by how often he wins, though. At 39 and coming off the worst beating of his career, Pereira might see all that leverage (and desire to see him perform) dwindle if he takes another tough loss this year. When that happens, it will be interesting to see if those $5 million pay days are still on the table.
