Thirty-nine seconds. That was the full length of Sergei Pavlovich’s night against Tallison Teixeira at UFC Macau on May 30, and it is the main reason the Russian heavyweight now shares the UFC 335 fight card with Alex Pereira. The year-end Las Vegas show pairs a BMF title defense with a heavyweight crossroads bout and a middleweight grudge match.
UFC 335 lands on Saturday, December 12, at T-Mobile Arena, with Charles Oliveira putting the BMF belt on the line against Diego Lopes in the main event. Three bouts make up the UFC 335 fight card so far, and each one matters for its division.
What is confirmed on the UFC 335 fight card so far
The official UFC 335 event page lists three matchups. Oliveira vs Lopes headlines at lightweight, Pavlovich vs Pereira sits on the main card at heavyweight, and Joe Pyfer vs Bo Nickal fills out the middleweight slot. The UFC has not said yet whether Pyfer vs Nickal goes on the main card or the prelims, and more bouts should follow before December.
| Bout | Division | Records | Last result for each |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Oliveira vs Diego Lopes (BMF title) | Lightweight | 37-11 vs 28-8 | Oliveira: UD over Max Holloway, UFC 326. Lopes: TKO of Steve Garcia, Round 2 |
| Sergei Pavlovich vs Alex Pereira | Heavyweight | 21-3 vs 13-4 | Pavlovich: KO of Tallison Teixeira at 0:39. Pereira: TKO loss to Ciryl Gane, Round 2 |
| Joe Pyfer vs Bo Nickal | Middleweight | 16-3 vs 9-1 | Pyfer: TKO of Israel Adesanya, Round 2. Nickal: TKO of Kyle Daukaus, Round 1 |
The UFC 335 fight card airs on Paramount+, with the main card at 9 p.m. ET. Prelims start at 7 p.m. ET on the same service, and the early prelims open the night at 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+ and UFC Fight Pass.
Oliveira vs Lopes: the BMF belt meets a new lightweight
Oliveira took the BMF belt on March 7 at UFC 326, outpointing Max Holloway over five rounds on every card. That win followed an October 2025 submission of Mateusz Gamrot in the second round. At 36, the No. 3 lightweight still owns one of the deepest finishing records in the sport, with 22 submission wins and 10 by knockout.
Lopes, 31, makes the most notable divisional move on the UFC 335 fight card, coming up from featherweight for his first UFC fight at 155 pounds. He fought for the 145-pound title twice, and his only Octagon defeats came against Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev. His most recent outing was a second-round stoppage of Steve Garcia at UFC Freedom 250 in June, and he also stopped Jean Silva in September 2025.
Keys for Oliveira
Oliveira’s clearest route runs through the mat. Lopes has 12 submission wins of his own and is no easy mark on the ground, but this is his first fight at lightweight, and it comes against a former 155-pound champion. Early takedowns and back takes would force Lopes to spend energy defending instead of countering.
Keys for Lopes
Lopes has 12 knockouts and 15 first-round finishes, and his best path is fast and loose. Oliveira’s last loss, a first-round knockout against Ilia Topuria in June 2025, showed that clean shots on the way in can still end his night. If Lopes stays off the fence and turns every exchange into a firefight, the jump in weight matters less.
Pereira vs Pavlovich: a heavyweight crossroads
Pereira’s first fight at heavyweight went badly. Ciryl Gane stopped him at 1:27 of the second round at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, eight months after Pereira knocked out Magomed Ankalaev in the opening round at UFC 320. He chose to stay at heavyweight, and this co-main tests that call.
Pavlovich has rebuilt his standing since a 2024 decision loss to Alexander Volkov. Wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Waldo Cortes Acosta went the distance, then the Teixeira knockout put him back among the top heavyweights. He also brings the edge in pure numbers: 16 knockouts, 16 first-round finishes and an 84-inch reach against Pereira’s 79.
- Pereira’s edge: accuracy. He lands 61% of his significant strikes, and 11 of his 13 wins came by knockout.
- Pavlovich’s edge: reach and early pressure. Sixteen of his wins ended in the first round, so Pereira has to get through the opening five minutes clean.
- The X-factor: durability. Pereira was stopped in his last outing, and it is fair to ask how well he absorbs heavyweight power now.
Pyfer vs Nickal and the rest of the card
Joe Pyfer comes in as the No. 6 middleweight after a second-round finish of Israel Adesanya on March 28. Bo Nickal, ranked No. 14, has strung together stoppages of Rodolfo Vieira and Kyle Daukaus since his May 2025 loss to Reinier de Ridder. Both men are 30, and the winner should be in line for a top-five opponent next year.
Beyond these three bouts, the UFC 335 fight card is still being built. No other matchups or presale dates have been announced, so treat any other names tied to the event as unconfirmed.
What each result would change
Every result on the UFC 335 fight card moves a division. A Lopes win would hand him a belt in his first lightweight fight and give the 155-pound division a fresh contender. An Oliveira win keeps him as the BMF holder, but the belt sits outside the undisputed title chase, a point fans keep debating, as seen in Joaquin Buckley’s call for an open-weight BMF tournament.
The co-main may carry more weight for the sport’s biggest division. Pavlovich sits at No. 3 among heavyweights, so a win for Pereira would move him straight back into title talk, while a Pavlovich win would leave him with four straight and a strong claim of his own.
Frequently asked questions about UFC 335
What is the UFC 335 date?
UFC 335 takes place on Saturday, December 12, 2026. The main card starts at 9 p.m. ET.
Where is UFC 335 being held?
The event is at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
How can I watch the UFC 335 main card?
The main card and prelims stream on Paramount+. The early prelims also air on UFC Fight Pass.
Why Pereira vs Pavlovich could steal the UFC 335 fight card
The BMF belt sells the poster, but the heavyweight bout decides more. Watch the first round of Pereira vs Pavlovich closely, since both men have built careers on ending fights early. On the UFC 335 fight card, the man who lands first may also be the man who walks into the next heavyweight title conversation.