Alex Pereira says Josh Hokit would be a much easier fight than Sergei Pavlovich

Pereira, who faces Pavlovich at UFC 335, also picks Ciryl Gane to beat Hokit when they meet for the heavyweight title at UFC 334 next month.

Alex Pereira rates Sergei Pavlovich, his opponent at UFC 335 in Las Vegas on 12 December, as a tougher test than Josh Hokit. "Of course, like I said, Hokit would be a much easier fight," Pereira told The Ariel Helwani Show, speaking through an interpreter. "Pavlovich is a little more dangerous opponent."

Pereira said he had been told he could fight Gane for the belt or face Hokit. "What got me more upset at that time was because they told me that I was possibly going to fight Gane for the belt or fight Hokit. And then none of that happened," he said.

Asked who wins when Ciryl Gane defends the undisputed heavyweight title against Hokit at Madison Square Garden on 14 November, Pereira said: "I think Ciryl Gane." He added that Hokit "is on a winning streak, but against opponents that are not in a good moment in the UFC. The results show that," and said Hokit "was actually getting very tired" in his last fight.

Pereira, the former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion, was stopped by Gane in his heavyweight debut in June. He meets Pavlovich in the five-round co-main event of UFC 335.

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