The heavyweight division is already talking trash about a fight that isn't even on that card's main roster. Alex Pereira and Sergei Pavlovich are booked for the co-main event of UFC 335 on December 12 in Las Vegas, and the announcement has pulled plenty of opinions out of the heavyweight locker room.

Alexander Volkov, ranked number two at heavyweight and fresh off a unanimous decision win over Waldo Cortes Acosta, does not like Pereira's chances. Volkov, who is booked against Rizvan Kuniev at UFC 333 on October 24, broke down the stylistic matchup and landed firmly on Pavlovich, saying simply, "Pavlovich hits hard." He went further, predicting not just a win for Pavlovich but a losing streak for Pereira coming out of the fight, and reportedly even teased a funny press conference exchange between the two heavyweights.

The numbers give some texture to that pick. Pavlovich sits third in the heavyweight rankings and is riding a first-round knockout of Tallison Teixeira, with an Elo of 1543 over seven bouts. Our own model has this one close, giving Pavlovich a slight 59 percent edge.

Not everyone in the division agrees with Volkov. Renato 'Moicano' Carneiro used his YouTube channel to push back, insisting Pereira has what it takes to win and warning that people have turned on him unfairly, saying "They got mad at the guy." He's also going against bookmakers and fellow heavyweight Valter Walker, who is ranked eleventh in the division and carries an Elo of 1572 after a first-round calf slicer submission of Thomas Petersen, both of whom have sided against Pereira as well.