Israel Adesanya questions Alex Pereira's 'If I lose' plan before Sergei Pavlovich fight at UFC 335

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has taken issue with his longtime rival Alex Pereira openly planning for defeat ahead of Pereira's heavyweight fight with Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 on December 12 in Las Vegas. Adesanya's comments circulated on X on Sunday, October 25, in a clip shared by MMA account @DovySimuMMA, and were picked up by MMA Junkie and Knockout Daily.

'What do you mean, if I lose?'

Adesanya was reacting to Pereira's recent statement that he would leave heavyweight if Pavlovich beats him.

"I saw a clip of Pereira saying if he loses to Pavlovich, he's going back down to 205. I don't like that. I don't like that he's putting that out there. Because what the f*ck you mean, 'If I lose?'" Adesanya said. "I don't know why he's taking this fight. It doesn't make sense to me."

MMA Junkie summed up the comments as Adesanya worrying about Pereira's mindset going into the bout. Adesanya did not say whether he expects Pereira to win or lose.

What Pereira actually said

Pereira laid out his contingency plan in an interview with Ariel Helwani last week. "Pavlovich is a dangerous guy. I've always said this. I want to win, but I can lose too. If I lose, I'm not going to stay at heavyweight," Pereira said, as quoted by MMA Mania and The Big Lead. "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."

In the same appearance, Pereira said he plans to weigh around 110 kg for Pavlovich, lighter than for his heavyweight debut, and insisted his goal is to win and get another fight with Ciryl Gane.

A rivalry that spans two sports

Few fighters know Pereira better than Adesanya. Pereira beat him twice in kickboxing, then stopped him in the fifth round at UFC 281 in November 2022 to take the middleweight title. Adesanya won the immediate rematch by knockout at UFC 287 in April 2023. Pereira later moved up to win the light heavyweight title before trying his luck at heavyweight.

That move has not gone to plan so far. Gane stopped Pereira in the second round of his heavyweight debut at UFC Freedom 250 in June, a result Pereira protested, claiming illegal strikes. Pavlovich (20-3) is a dangerous test for a second heavyweight outing: the Russian has won three straight, most recently a 39-second knockout of Tallison Teixeira in May.

Knockout Daily went further than Adesanya, arguing that publicly drawing up an exit plan against a puncher like Pavlovich "reads as doubt." That is the outlet's opinion. Pereira's camp has not responded to Adesanya's comments.

Adesanya's own situation

Adesanya, 37, has his own problems. He is on a four-fight losing streak and, according to Ariel Helwani, is set to face Shara Magomedov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia on December 5. The UFC has not officially announced that fight.

What's next

• UFC 335, December 12, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas: Alex Pereira vs Sergei Pavlovich (five rounds, co-main event), under Charles Oliveira vs Diego Lopes for the BMF title
• Reported: Israel Adesanya vs Shara Magomedov, UFC Saudi Arabia, December 5 (not officially announced)