Former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who also held gold at 185 pounds, is hoping his skills will compensate for being “lighter” and ultimately be enough to make him a contender in the heavyweight division. They weren’t enough to save him from a brutal beatdown against Ciryl Gane, but “Poatan” insists the loss was a result of illegal blows.

That’s why Pereira, now 39, is giving heavyweight another go. His next assignment comes in the form of Russian power puncher Sergei Pavlovich in the UFC 335 co-main event this December in Las Vegas.

“If I lose, I’m not going to stay at heavyweight,” Pereira told Ariel Helwani. “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.”

Pereira (13-4) would likely return to the 205-pound division, a weight class he ruled before setting sail for heavyweight. Current champion Carlos Ulberg is one of the few names at light heavyweight that Pereira has not already faced (and defeated), so it will be interesting to see where the recovering “Black Jag” is at when Pereira returns.