Alex Pereira shares sparring footage with Glover Teixeira ahead of UFC 335

Alex Pereira is scheduled to take on heavyweight power-puncher Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event of UFC 335. It promises to be one of the most dangerous bouts of 'Poatan's' career, but he is training hard to make sure he gets his hand raised.

Alex Pereira drops sparring footage on social media

Nothing comes as naturally to Alex Pereira as does kickboxing. However, to strike with Sergei Pavlovich, who he will face at UFC 335 in a likely title eliminator, is to invite danger. The Russian is one of the most heavy-handed fighters in the division and is coming off a first-round knockout of Tallison Teixeira, who he faced at UFC Macau. Speaking of Teixeiras, 'Poatan' recently shared footage of a sparring session with former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira on Instagram.

The sparring seems to be focused on sharpening Pereira's pocket boxing skills, and he can be seen slipping punches and landing counters in preparation to fight in the pocket with Pavlovich.

He'll need to be careful with how he approaches his training, as he recently revealed how difficult it is to now, at 39 years old, maintain the same volume he used to train at. He is also coming off one of the worst losses of his career, having been TKO'd in round two by Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250. Despite 'Poatan's' dismissal of his loss, claiming that he wouldn't have lost had Herb Dean not been officiating the fight or that the intercepting jab that Gane knocked him down with amounted to a lucky punch, he was not doing well in the bout. He struggled to close the distance, and Gane's mobility and footwork proved far superior to his.

Now, he has the chance to bounce back from the loss, but Pavlovich isn't going to be a stepping stone on his path back to heavyweight title contention. After all, Pavlovich is on a three-fight win streak and eager to earn a title shot himself. So, at UFC 335, Pereira will have to be on his A-game. Unfortunately, he's already considering a move back down to light heavyweight if he loses, which hasn't sat well with former rival Israel Adesanya.