Valter Walker has picked Sergei Pavlovich to knock out Alex Pereira in the first round, according to MMA Sucka. The available reporting doesn’t include the exact wording of Walker’s prediction, so I’ll stick to the pick itself. It’s a first-round stoppage for the Russian.
That’s a notable call from Walker. He’s Brazilian, like Pereira, but he moved to Moscow in 2018 to train and built his early career there, going 11-0 with eight of those fights in Russia. So he isn’t guessing about how Russian heavyweights hit. He’s 16-1, No. 22 in the Knockout Daily heavyweight rankings, and he’s the younger brother of Johnny Walker. Personally I’d watch him over most of the division. He tied Rousimar Palhares for the most heel hook submissions in UFC history (four), and on July 25, 2026, he tapped Thomas Petersen with a calf slicer in Round 1 at UFC Fight Night 282. Those are leg locks at heavyweight, and I’ll defend that sentence to anyone.
The fight he’s calling
Pereira vs. Pavlovich is a five-round co-main event at UFC 335 on December 12 in Las Vegas, underneath Charles Oliveira vs. Diego Lopes for the BMF belt. It’s Pereira’s step up to heavyweight, and he’s starting against one of the division’s most dangerous punchers. Pereira’s reply after the booking was a promo video with the caption “I’ll see you soon.” He has since posted sparring footage against Glover Teixeira. Some fans noticed he was wearing headgear, which he doesn’t usually do.
View post on X
MMA Fighting reported that Pavlovich opened as the betting favorite, so Walker is siding with the oddsmakers. His first-round prediction also matches Pavlovich’s UFC record. The Russian (21-3, No. 8 in our rankings) finished Maurice Greene, Shamil Abdurakhimov and Curtis Blaydes in Round 1. He stopped both Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa in under a minute. (The Lewis stoppage drew complaints that the referee stepped in too early.) The other side of that record is that both of Pavlovich’s UFC losses also ended in the first round. Alistair Overeem stopped him in his 2018 debut, and Tom Aspinall knocked him out with a counter right hand in their interim title fight at UFC 295.
View post on X
That Aspinall loss is the real problem with Walker’s pick. Pavlovich tends to come forward hard and early, and a sharp counter puncher has already punished him for it once. Pereira will get his chance to do the same on December 12.
View post on X
