Alex Pereira wants another crack at the heavyweight throne, but Joe Rogan thinks there’s a massive problem standing in his way, and that problem hits like a truck. ‘Poatan’ is staying at heavyweight and has his eyes locked on another title shot against Ciryl Gane. But first, he has to get through Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 in December, and the UFC commentator isn’t exactly convinced that’ll be an easy night for the Brazilian.

During Saturday’s UFC 332 broadcast, Joe Rogan pointed out just how nasty the matchup could be, especially with Pavlovich’s size, boxing and ridiculous knockout power.

“‘Poatan’ again at heavyweight; he’s determined to try to win a title at heavyweight, and the man won’t go back to light heavyweight,” Rogan said. “He’s like, ‘I want another shot at Ciryl Gane.’ He’s got to go through Sergei Pavlovich to get it, and that’s a tough task.

“Pavlovich is a huge, huge heavyweight with gigantic power and fantastic boxing.”

Alex Pereira’s heavyweight run got off to a rough start, with the Brazilian suffering a second-round TKO loss to Ciryl Gane. That loss immediately sparked the usual question: should the 39-year-old just head back down to light heavyweight? Well, ‘Poatan’ clearly isn’t interested.

The former two-division champ is still chasing that elusive third UFC title, but to keep that dream alive, he’ll have to survive one of heavyweight’s biggest knockout threats.

And there’s a little extra motivation here, too. Alex Pereira will have a chance to avenge the loss of his fellow Brazilian and regular sparring partner, Tallison Teixeira. Sergei Pavlovich last fought at UFC Macau in May, where he absolutely steamrolled the 6-foot-7 Teixeira, stopping him in just 39 seconds.

That win was a pretty loud reminder that the Russian’s power is still very much alive. The 34-year-old now has 16 knockouts across 21 pro wins, putting to bed any questions about whether his finishing ability had taken a hit after his own knockout loss to Tom Aspinall.

Sergei Pavlovich’s road back to title contention had hit a serious roadblock after back-to-back losses to Aspinall and Alexander Volkov. But he slowly started putting things back together with decision wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

Then came Teixeira, and Pavlovich spent just 39 seconds reminding everyone what happens when that power lands.

That three-fight win streak has sent the 34-year-old surging all the way to No. 2 in the Meta UFC heavyweight rankings, setting up a seriously high-stakes clash with Alex Pereira.

This isn’t just another fight for either guy; there’s a lot riding on it. For ‘Poatan’, the goal is crystal clear. He doesn’t just want a win; he wants another shot at Ciryl Gane and another chance to chase the heavyweight title.

But first, he has to get past Sergei Pavlovich, and with the Russian sitting at No. 2, there’s no better way for the former two division champion to prove he belongs right back in the title picture.

If the 39-year-old gets past the Russian, the road ahead could get very interesting. He could potentially find himself facing the winner of Ciryl Gane’s UFC 334 title defence against Josh Hokit.

Alex Pereira had already been eyeing either a rematch with ‘Bon Gamin’ or a grudge match with Hokit towards the end of 2026, but now Pavlovich is the big roadblock standing between him and either matchup.

Dana White explains why Alex Pereira didn’t get a direct title rematch

With Josh Hokit getting the nod to challenge Ciryl Gane, the obvious question was bound to come up: could Alex Pereira’s massive star power have been enough to jump the line and get that rematch anyway? Well, Dana White had a pretty clear answer: absolutely not.

“We make fights based on star power?” White said at the UFC 332 presser. “We make fights based on who is the best in the world, who deserves to be there.”

Dana White wasn’t exactly writing Pereira off, either. In fact, the UFC boss made it clear that ‘Poatan’ is still very much in the title picture, but there’s just one little problem: he’s coming off a loss to ‘Bon Gamin’.

“(Pereira is) coming off a loss right now against Ciryl Gane,” he added. “This is the fight to make. Yeah, he’s in there (in the title picture). It’s not like he has to do anything to come close to the title shot. He’s in it right now.

“I mean, everything you just said is dead on, and he’ll get his shot. He’s got to, you know. Sometimes people get in these weird positions where they feel like they’re in no man’s land, but it’s just a timing issue.”

Alex Pereira, though, doesn’t seem too bothered by the wait. In fact, he looks ready for what’s next. Shortly after Dana White announced the Pavlovich matchup during the UFC 332 broadcast in Salt Lake City, the Brazilian took to Instagram with a pretty wild message.

He posted a video of himself firing an arrow at Pavlovich as the Russian marched through the snow towards the UFC heavyweight title.

“I’ll see you soon,” Pereira wrote in the caption.

And just like that, the message is crystal clear. Alex Pereira still has his eyes locked on Gane and another shot at the heavyweight belt. But before he gets anywhere near that rematch, he has to deal with the massive problem standing directly in his path: Sergei Pavlovich.

Joe Rogan called it a “tough task”; Pereira now gets to prove just how tough he really is.