Charles Oliveira and Diego Lopes rarely need much encouragement to turn a fight chaotic. Putting them together for five rounds feels almost irresponsible.
UFC 335 takes place on Saturday 12 December at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with Oliveira defending the BMF title against Lopes in the final numbered UFC event currently confirmed for 2026.
The co-main event is just as interesting. Alex Pereira continues his move into the heavyweight division against former interim title challenger Sergei Pavlovich, while Joe Pyfer vs Bo Nickal and Brandon Moreno vs Charles Johnson have also been added to the card.
For the latest prices across UFC 335 and other upcoming cards, visit BetVictor’s UFC betting and odds page.
When Is UFC 335?
UFC 335 takes place on Saturday 12 December 2026 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Because of the time difference, the majority of British viewers will be watching the main card during the early hours of Sunday 13 December.
The UFC currently lists:
- Event: UFC 335: Oliveira vs Lopes
- Date: Saturday 12 December 2026
- Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
- Early prelims: 10pm GMT
- Prelims: midnight GMT
- Main card: 2am GMT, Sunday 13 December
- Main event: Charles Oliveira vs Diego Lopes
- Co-main event: Sergei Pavlovich vs Alex Pereira
- UK coverage: TNT Sports / HBO Max
The official UFC event page currently has the main card scheduled for 9pm EST, which converts to 2am GMT in the UK.
Exact Oliveira vs Lopes walkout times will depend on how quickly the earlier fights move. With four bouts currently announced for the main card, somewhere around 4am GMT would be a reasonable early estimate, but it is far too soon to treat that as fixed.
UFC 335 Fight Card
The UFC 335 card is still being built.
At the time of writing, the announced main-card fights are:
Main Card
- Charles Oliveira vs Diego Lopes – BMF title
- Sergei Pavlovich vs Alex Pereira – Heavyweight
- Joe Pyfer vs Bo Nickal – Middleweight
- Brandon Moreno vs Charles Johnson – Flyweight
More fights will almost certainly be added before December.
Oliveira vs Lopes and Pereira vs Pavlovich were formally announced by the UFC on 4 October, while Pyfer-Nickal and Moreno-Johnson have since appeared on the developing UFC 335 lineup.
The latest divisional positions can be followed through our UFC rankings 2026 page.
Why Is Charles Oliveira Fighting Diego Lopes?
Because the BMF title has created a fight which probably would not otherwise happen right now.
Oliveira won the belt at UFC 326 in March, beating Max Holloway by unanimous decision over five rounds. It was a very different Oliveira performance from some of the wild fights we became used to during his lightweight championship run.
Rather than forcing a finish, he controlled long stretches of the fight and comfortably did enough to take the scorecards.
He now defends that belt against another Brazilian who seems physically incapable of having an uneventful UFC career.
Lopes moves up from featherweight for his UFC lightweight debut. That is important.
He has spent most of his UFC run at 145lb and has already challenged for the featherweight championship twice, but December gives him an opportunity to move straight into a huge fight without spending several appearances gradually working his way through the lightweight rankings.
Lopes also enters with momentum after stopping Steve Garcia in the second round in June.
His professional record is now 28-8, with 12 wins by knockout and another 12 by submission.
Charles Oliveira’s UFC Records
Oliveira’s career has reached the point where individual wins are only part of the story.
He is already one of the most prolific finishers the UFC has ever seen and has spent years building records through submissions, bonuses and victories against elite opposition.
His professional record currently stands at 37-11, with 22 submission victories and ten knockouts.
He has also stayed near the top of lightweight despite a division which has repeatedly changed around him.
Islam Makhachev, Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje have all influenced the championship picture over the last few years, yet Oliveira continues finding his way into major fights.
Our guide to the most UFC wins shows just how high Oliveira sits across the promotion’s all-time records.
The BMF belt obviously does not carry the same sporting weight as an undisputed championship.
But Oliveira vs Lopes does not really need it. Put those two in a cage and people will watch.
Can Diego Lopes Beat Charles Oliveira?
Absolutely. The interesting part is working out where he wants the fight.
Most opponents would probably prefer to avoid Oliveira on the ground. Lopes is not most opponents.
He has a strong Brazilian jiu-jitsu background of his own and has 12 submission victories, matching his 12 wins by knockout.
That gives him options. If Oliveira attacks recklessly in a scramble, Lopes has the skill to make him pay for it.
On the feet, Lopes also carries genuine power and tends to start aggressively. Fifteen of his professional victories have come in the opening round.
The concern is what happens if Oliveira survives that initial burst.
Lopes absorbs a fair amount of damage. His UFC profile currently has him taking 4.65 significant strikes per minute, which is dangerous against someone as experienced and opportunistic as Oliveira.
The move to lightweight may help his durability. It could also leave him dealing with physically stronger opponents for the first time.
We will not really know until 12 December.
Oliveira vs Lopes Prediction
I’m leaning towards Charles Oliveira, but not with enormous confidence.
Lopes is dangerous enough in every phase that Oliveira cannot simply rely on his experience carrying him through.
I actually think the first two rounds could be horrible for Oliveira.
Lopes tends to attack early, carries serious power and will not automatically panic if the fight hits the mat.
But if Oliveira gets beyond that opening pressure without taking major damage, the fight should begin shifting towards him.
He has far more experience across five-round UFC fights, has operated at lightweight for years and has already shared the Octagon with most of the best fighters the division has produced over the last decade.
Lopes has never competed at UFC lightweight. That gap becomes harder to ignore as the fight moves towards the championship rounds.
Prediction: Charles Oliveira by submission in rounds three or four.
Alex Pereira vs Sergei Pavlovich at Heavyweight
The UFC could easily have sold Pereira vs Pavlovich as the main event of another card. Instead, it sits underneath Oliveira vs Lopes.
Pereira is staying at heavyweight despite losing his first fight in the division against current champion Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 in June.
That alone tells us plenty about what he wants.
Dropping back to light heavyweight and working towards another championship opportunity would have been understandable.
Instead, Pereira is fighting one of the most dangerous punchers at heavyweight.
Pavlovich has a professional record of 21-3, with 16 knockout victories. All 16 of those stoppages came in the first round.
His most recent fight lasted just 39 seconds, with Pavlovich stopping Tallison Teixeira in May.
He has now won three in a row. That gives Pereira absolutely no easing-in period.
Why Pereira vs Pavlovich Matters
The winner should be very close to a heavyweight title fight.
Pavlovich is already ranked near the top of the division and previously challenged Tom Aspinall for the interim championship.
Pereira is different.
His ranking does not tell the whole story because he has already been champion at middleweight and light heavyweight, while his popularity guarantees that any significant heavyweight victory carries enormous weight.
Beating Pavlovich would immediately make another title fight realistic. The champion will also be watching.
Ciryl Gane defends the heavyweight belt against Josh Hokit at UFC 334 on 14 November, less than a month before Pereira and Pavlovich meet.
Our Ciryl Gane vs Josh Hokit preview looks at that championship matchup in more detail.
There is therefore a very obvious path developing. Gane or Hokit leaves New York with the belt.
Pereira or Pavlovich makes a statement in Las Vegas four weeks later. Then we see what the UFC wants to do in 2027.
Pereira vs Pavlovich Prediction
This one worries me more for Pereira than Oliveira vs Lopes does for Oliveira. Pavlovich is enormous.
He stands 6ft 3in, has an 84-inch reach and has built his career around finishing heavyweights before they ever get comfortable.
Pereira is a far more sophisticated striker technically.
His distance management, kicks and ability to disguise the left hook give him ways to punish Pavlovich if the Russian becomes reckless.
The problem is whether he gets enough time. Gane already showed that Pereira does not instantly become untouchable just because his striking pedigree is better than most heavyweights.
Pavlovich is much less technical than Gane, but he is also far more willing to simply walk forward and turn the opening round into a firefight. That feels dangerous.
Prediction: Pereira by first or second-round knockout.
Joe Pyfer vs Bo Nickal
There is a really good middleweight fight underneath the two Brazilian stars.
Joe Pyfer faces Bo Nickal in a matchup between two fighters who were both promoted heavily during the early stages of their UFC careers.
Nickal obviously brings the wrestling pedigree.
His collegiate career made him one of the most discussed prospects entering MMA, but UFC competition has gradually started asking more complicated questions than his early opponents could.
Pyfer should provide another one. He carries considerable power and has far more striking experience than Nickal.
The basic question is simple. Can Pyfer keep the fight standing long enough to force Nickal into uncomfortable exchanges?
If he can, this becomes very interesting. If Nickal gets to the legs consistently, Pyfer could spend most of the night defending rather than punching.
Brandon Moreno vs Charles Johnson
Former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno is also expected to return at UFC 335 against Charles Johnson.
Moreno ended a two-fight losing run by beating Joseph Morales at Noche UFC in September and made it clear afterwards that he wanted to compete again before the end of the year.
Johnson gives him a very different test.
He has been inconsistent in terms of results, but he remains one of the more experienced and active fighters around the flyweight rankings.
A Moreno victory keeps the former champion relevant in a division now led by Joshua Van.
For Johnson, beating a two-time UFC champion would comfortably be the biggest name on his record.
What Weight Is Diego Lopes Fighting At?
UFC 335 marks Diego Lopes’ first UFC fight at lightweight, where the maximum non-title limit is normally 156lb and championship fights are contested at 155lb.
Lopes has built almost his entire UFC reputation at featherweight.
That division has a 145lb championship limit.
The move therefore gives him an additional ten pounds to work with compared with a featherweight title fight.
Our UFC weight classes guide explains all of the promotion’s divisions and championship limits.
Whether lightweight becomes Lopes’ permanent home probably depends on what happens here.
Beat Oliveira and there would be very little reason to immediately move back down.
Lose, and the featherweight division may still have unfinished business for him.
UFC 335 Odds
At the time of writing, BetVictor odds are not yet available for UFC 335.
That is not unusual with the event still more than two months away and most of the undercard yet to be announced.
Once markets open, Oliveira vs Lopes should be particularly interesting.
Oliveira has the experience and is the established lightweight.
Lopes is younger, explosive and moving up rather than cutting to featherweight.
Pereira vs Pavlovich could be even harder to price because both men have legitimate one-punch finishing power.
This section will be updated once BetVictor UFC 335 odds become available.
How to Watch UFC 335 in the UK
UFC events in the UK are currently shown through TNT Sports, with streaming available through HBO Max.
TNT Sports states that it carries live coverage of every UFC card for UK viewers.
The specific TNT Sports channel for UFC 335 has not yet been confirmed.
The timing is already clear:
- Early prelims: 10pm GMT
- Prelims: midnight
- Main card: 2am GMT
- Oliveira vs Lopes: likely around 4am, although TBC
Our guide to watching UFC in the UK covers the current television and streaming setup in full.
Is UFC 335 the Final UFC Event of 2026?
UFC 335 is currently the final numbered UFC event officially announced for 2026.
That does not necessarily mean there will be no Fight Night afterwards. The promotion can still add events to the calendar.
For now, though, Oliveira vs Lopes gives the UFC a suitably ridiculous way to finish its numbered schedule.
A BMF fight involving two aggressive Brazilian finishers. Pereira against one of the hardest-punching heavyweights alive.
Nickal vs Pyfer. Moreno back again. There is already plenty here before the rest of the card has even been announced.
For every confirmed event still to come before UFC 335, visit our UFC schedule 2026.
For more previews, rankings, results and fighter news, head to the BetVictor UFC and MMA News hub.
