Alex Pereira Insists Dricus Du Plessis Take Super-Fight after UFC 307

UFC Champ Alex Pereira entertains a middleweight move against Dricus Du Plessis after his upcoming fight with Khalil Rountree Jr.

Christopher De Santiago | Sep 3, 2024

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Pereira isn't done with the middleweight division just yet.

Rather than moving up to heavyweight to become a three-division UFC champion, Pereira has his sights on becoming a two-time champ at 185lbs, where he held a short reign of terror prior to losing the belt to Israel Adesanya last year.

Pereira's gone perfect since then in his new home at light heavyweight, picking up four wins, two of those being title defenses as champion.

"Poatan" enters his fourth title fight in 11 months, facing another striker in Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 next month in Salt Lake City, Utah. Not looking past a sizable underdog in Rountree, it's no secret Pereira foresees his next fight being an even more massive one at middleweight against current champion Dricus Du Plessis.

Pereira Extends A Middleweight Challenge To DDP

Pereira made it known he wanted to fight Du Plessis following his submission'win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 weeks ago, relaying the message furthermore en route to his upcoming fight.

"I’m focused on my next fight and I’m going prepared but you never know what can happen, so regardless of the result I want to go down one more time to the middleweight and go for the belt," Pereira wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.

"Hey Dricus, bring your will to fight me so you can prove that you are better than me, with your public statement it is easy to make this happen, Chama."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@alexpoatanpereira)

Ex-UFC Champion Warns Alex Pereira Against Dricus Du Plessis Super-Fight

Du Plessis Has Said He'll Come Up To 205lbs To Fight Poatan

Du Plessis has heard this callout before, saying he'd entertain a move to light heavyweight in the future to potentially become a simultaneous two-division champion - the sixth in UFC history if he were to accomplish such a feat.

Alex Pereira Insists Dricus Du Plessis Take Super-Fight after UFC 307

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Despite Pereira wanting the super-fight to be at middleweight in an effort to accomplish that himself, Du Plessis has said he wants the Brazilian at his absolute best and for there to be no excuses that may come with a somewhat drastic weight cut down to 185lbs.

"If Izzy [Adesanya] stiffens you like that, you do not wanna be in there with me," Du Plessis said at the UFC 305 post-fight press conference. "Especially not when you're gonna come in there with the excuses, 'No, I cut too much weight...' That's gonna happen. Everybody's gonna say that. So stay at 205. Fight your fight against the #8 ranked guy. Fight your fight there and enjoy it."

"If [Sean] Strickland is the next fight, the people wanna see that fight... 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," Du Plessis said of a potential fight with Pereira."