Dricus Du Plessis is well aware of Alex Pereira’s callout, but he isn’t so certain it’s the best idea for the Brazilian to challenge him at 185 pounds.
After Du Plessis defended his middleweight title with a fourth-round submission of Israel Adesanya in the UFC 305 headliner on Saturday night, “Poatan” hinted at a return to the middleweight division. Pereira initially claimed 185-pound gold with a stoppage of Adesanya in his fourth Octagon appearance at UFC 281. He moved to light heavyweight after falling to “The Last Stylebender” in their rematch, and the Brazilian has since become the promotion’s champion in his new weight class, authoring two successful title defenses thus far in 2024.
“I honestly don’t think Alex Pereira should drop down to 185. If he wants to, great, perfect. But then we’re going to hear the excuses,” Du Plessis said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I saw Izzy stiff that man in the first round. I felt Izzy’s punching power tonight. Izzy has great timing, he’s fast, he’s long and he has great combinations, but I felt the power.
“If Izzy stiffens you like that, you do not want to be in there with me, especially not when you’ve got to come in there with the excuses, ‘Oh, I cut too much weight.’ That’s going to happen. Everybody’s going to say it.”
Pereira is currently scheduled for his next light heavyweight title defense against Khalil Rountree in the UFC 307 main event on Oct. 5. Du Plessis, meanwhile, could be looking at a rematch against Sean Strickland after UFC CEO Dana White stated that the former champion was the No. 1 contender in waiting. However, Du Plessis does have an alternative proposal for Pereira.
“Stay at 205, fight your fight against the No. 8 ranked guy. Fight your fight there and enjoy it,” Du Plessis said. “If Strickland is the next fight, the people want to see that fight — if that’s the fight that people want to see and that’s the fight right now people think is the next best guy, then it’s the fight that I want. So let me handle my business, you handle your business.
“You don’t have to cut the weight so you have some sort of excuse. I’ll come up after the Strickland fight. I’ll come up to 205 and we’ll sort it out there.”
While many title holders in recent times have expressed interested in becoming a two-division champion, that isn’t necessarily Du Plessis’ intent. He’d rather focus on further establishing himself as the top middleweight in the world.
“If that’s (the Pereira fight) what the UFC wants, I’ll be ready for it. I’ll be ready for it right now, but I’m not chasing that,” Du Plessis said. “I believe to be considered as the greatest to ever do this sport, I need to be considered as the greatest middleweight, first. I’m the first guy to beat Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. I’ve beat three of the Top 20 pound-for-pound fighters, so can I please get back in the Top 10? I beat Strickland, I beat Whittaker and I beat Adesanya. I haven’t been on social media, but I can’t wait to see what the critics say now.”
