A winless run at heavyweight would result in ‘Poatan’ hanging up his gloves.

The former UFC light heavyweight and middleweight champion is still chasing history inside the Octagon in a third division.

After Pereira was knocked out by Ciryl Gane in their heavyweight title fight at the White House this past June, the Brazilian is looking to work his way back to another shot at becoming the UFC’s first-ever triple champ.

The 39-year-old still has goals to achieve on MMA’s biggest stage, but he has vowed to step away as soon as a string of results go against him.

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Alex Pereira will end his UFC career when he starts to lose frequently

Pereira has lost two of his last three fights, having gone 1-1 with Magomed Ankalaev before departing the 205-pound weight class in 2025.

‘Poatan’ does not plan to make a habit out of tasting defeat and expects to avoid the first losing skid of his UFC career this December in Las Vegas.

Pereira will fight Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335, seeking a first heavyweight victory that could set up a showdown with the winner of Ciryl Gane’s title defense against Josh Hokit.

If the Russian has his hand raised instead, Pereira may not be too many more setbacks away from retirement.

“You gotta learn how to see when it’s your moment and when it’s not,” Pereira said during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.

“If one day I start losing, if things start not going too good, I don’t want to be a stepping stone for nobody to be going up. I’ll just be focusing on enjoying my time and enjoying my money.

“We did a very good career plan for me, my kids, my future, my kids’ future, for the institute that I built,” he continued. “We’re all settled, so I have nothing to prove anymore.”

Pereira may have already extended his career with a couple of weight changes. Those in the heavier weight classes are known for being able to fight longer, with plenty of heavyweights competing into their forties.

Rather than age, the Brazilian star’s timeline for retirement evidently depends on his results. It is safe to say that fans won’t be seeing ‘Poatan’ sticking around as a gatekeeper.