Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis has his eyes set on Khamzat Chimaev despite wanting a battle with Alex Pereira.
The South African fighter successfully defended his title for the third time against Sean Strickland at UFC 312. The bout was both fighters’ second time in the octagon against each other, and DDP proves he is the better fighter yet again. After his win, Plessis pointed out light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira– who was on Sean Strickland’s team– as his next opponent and would like to fight him despite their differences in division.
“I have the world of respect for Alex Pereira,” du Plessis said. “ And, I think he is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. I have the most respect for him, what he’s done in a short period of time in the UFC, to come from another sport, what he’s done there, but yes, I want to share the octagon with that man. And, I want to beat a guy — I’ve beaten [Israel] Adesanya, who has beaten him. I know I can beat him, and at 205 [pounds]. One hundred percent.”
Despite his eagerness to face Alex Pereira, the fight may not come to fruition as the Brazilian is set to face Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Plessis, on the other hand, is set to face undefeated Khamzat Chimaev to defend his title and plans on giving the fighter a “hiding” before placing his focus on Pereira.
“Khamzat first,” du Plessis said. “I said [to Pereira], ‘Please beat Ankalaev.’ No hate against Ankalaev; I just want to beat Alex Pereira. It’s nothing personal against Ankalaev, it’s just Pereira. He’s such a legend in this sport to me already that it would be amazing to beat him for my legacy. I want to be the greatest to ever do this. But Khamzat is next. Khamzat is next. I want to make sure that this belt, the middleweight title, that there’s no question that I’m the GOAT of the middleweight division.
“I know you have Anderson Silva—in my mind, he is the GOAT of this division—and you have Adesanya, who has done incredible things, but it’s not about how many times you defend. It’s about who you fight, how you defend it, and how you’ve done it, what period of time you’ve done it, who you’ve fought, and making sure that there’s no question that I am the best middleweight, and then going up. So I’m not rushing that my next fight is Alex Pereira. No, no, no. I want Khamzat next. I think he deserves a hiding.”
For now, it is uncertain if Pereira will go up the division to face Plessis or vice versa. Whichever way they decide to go, both fighters are willing to face each other, as Pereira has always had intentions of battling Plessis to become a two-division champ.
