Charles Oliveira will defend the ‘BMF’ title against Diego Lopes in the UFC 335 main event on December 12, while former two-division champion Alex Pereira will continue his heavyweight campaign against Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The UFC announced the two bouts this past weekend, with Oliveira set to make the first defence of the ‘BMF’ title he claimed with a dominant victory over Max Holloway at UFC 326 in March. The former lightweight champion had been linked with an earlier return but will instead face Lopes, who moves up from featherweight for his lightweight debut.

Lopes has twice challenged for UFC gold at 145-pounds and had previously indicated his intention to move up a division. The Brazilian will now make that move against one of the most accomplished fighters in UFC history, with an opportunity to claim the ‘BMF’ title in his first appearance at lightweight.

In the co-main event, Pereira will make his second appearance at heavyweight after falling short in his attempt to become the first three-division champion in UFC history. The former middleweight and light heavyweight champion suffered a knockout loss to reigning heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane at the UFC White House event in June but has elected to remain in the division.

Pavlovich enters the matchup on a three-fight winning streak as he attempts to work his way back towards heavyweight title contention. The Russian lost an interim title fight against Tom Aspinall in 2023 before suffering a decision defeat to Alexander Volkov, but has since rebounded with three consecutive victories, including a knockout of Tallison Teixeira in May. A win for Pereira could also put the Brazilian back in contention for another heavyweight title opportunity.

UFC 335 will also feature a middleweight matchup between Bo Nickal and Joe Pyfer, who meet after developing a rivalry between the two contenders. Additional bouts are expected to be announced ahead of the December 12 event in Las Vegas.