De Lima returning to heavyweight after 2 failed attempts to make 205 pounds

Marcos Rogerio de Lima's days as a light heavyweight are officially over.

After failing to make the 206-pound limit in his past two bouts, "Pezao" told MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz he was returning to heavyweight. De Lima came in 4 pounds over for last Saturday's date with Ovince Saint Preux before tapping to a Von Flue choke in the second round, and went as far as attributing a pair of injuries sustained in the fight to the ill effects of the failed weight cut.

"I didn’t recover well," De Lima said. "I fractured my face cheekbone and my nose with a blow. It wasn’t even that hard, but the doctor said it probably fractured because my potassium and calcium levels were too low."

As disastrous as his last cut and fight may have been, de Lima's previous attempt to make light heavyweight proved far more grueling. The 31-year-old claims to have passed out twice in preparation for his January fight with Jeremy Kimball, although he recovered enough to record a first-round TKO win.

"The first one was in the pool, so no problem, but the second time, I was in the bathroom, so I went down and hit my head.

"It was the first time something like that ever happened to me. Even when I cut down to 185 I was fine, but this time I had issues. My body was in its limit. I was afraid of how my body would react during the fight because of the high altitude, but thank God I didn’t need to pull out of the fight. It was a good fight. I felt a bit slower, but I still won."

De Lima competed on "TUF: Brazil 3" and KO'd Richardson Moreira in 20 seconds in his UFC debut as a heavyweight. He rejoins his fellow behemoths after compiling a 3-3 record in light heavyweight and catchweight bouts.