Adesanya questions why Pereira is fighting Pavlovich instead of dropping back to 205

Israel Adesanya has questioned the logic of Alex Pereira’s continued campaign at heavyweight, saying his former rival should have dropped back to light heavyweight after losing the interim title to Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 in June rather than accepting a fight against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 on 12 December at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Speaking on the Precision podcast, Adesanya took particular issue with Pereira publicly stating he would return to 205 pounds if he loses to Pavlovich — framing that the Nigerian-New Zealander said he found damaging before a fight has even taken place.

“I already saw a clip of Pereira saying if he loses to Pavlovich, he is going back down to 205… I don’t like that,” Adesanya said. “I don’t like putting that out there. F*ck you mean, ‘If I lose?’ Why not just go back to 205 after that last fight with Ciryl Gane? I thought he was gonna go to 205; it made sense. I don’t know why he is taking this fight; it doesn’t make sense to me.”

Adesanya and Pereira have a long and personal history, with the Brazilian defeating Adesanya twice in kickboxing before their trilogy of bouts in the UFC, where Pereira won the middleweight title before Adesanya reclaimed it — only for Pereira to move up and capture the light heavyweight crown.

Pereira had reportedly sought a rematch with Gane following the UFC Freedom 250 defeat before the Pavlovich bout was finalised. Gane, meanwhile, will defend the heavyweight title against Josh Hokit at UFC 334 in November, closing off that avenue for now.

The comments add a fresh layer of scrutiny to Pereira’s heavyweight ambitions heading into December, with Adesanya — one of the few fighters who knows “Poatan” as well as anyone — openly unconvinced that the move makes competitive sense.