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Dricus Du Plessis Wants to Take the Title Off Alex Pereira: “Ultimately Be Seen as the Greatest”

Dricus Du Plessis Wants to Take the Title Off Alex Pereira: "Ultimately Be Seen as the Greatest" Dricus Du Plessis plans on becoming the greatest fighter of all time, and he believes that accomplishing his goal…

Dricus Du Plessis plans on becoming the greatest fighter of all time, and he believes that accomplishing his goal means having to go through the current light heavyweight king, Alex Pereira.

But first, ‘Stillknocks’ has some work to do this Saturday in Sydney.

Emanating from the Qudos Bank Arena in Australia, Du Plessis is scheduled to put his 185-pound crown on the line in a highly anticipated rematch with ex-champion Sean Strickland at UFC 312.

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It will be Du Plessis’ second defense of the middleweight title, the first coming in August when he submitted Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of their UFC 305 headliner.

Du Plessis knows there’s still work to be done at 185

Speaking with McKenzie Pavacich of ESPN MMA, ‘DDP’ made it clear that his goal is to eventually move up and claim the light heavyweight title, but he knows that there is still a lot of work to be done at 185 before he can go asking for a shot at champ-champ status.

“I’m still quite a bit away from actually dominating the division and being in a place where there is no competition left,” Du Plessis said. “I also want to go up and get another belt and, ultimately, be seen as the greatest fighter to ever walk this earth. That is my ultimate goal, and that is what keeps me going.”

If Du Plessis comes out on top in The Land Down Under, he’ll move his record to 9-0 under the UFC banner while simultaneously going two-up on Strickland inside the Octagon.

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Dana White Tells Piers Morgan The Most Dangerous Fighters in the UFC and Has a Glaring Exclusion

Apparently, Dana White’s list of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC does not include Alex Pereira. We’re just…

Apparently, Dana White’s list of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC does not include Alex Pereira.

We’re just as shocked as you are.

During a recent appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, the UFC CEO was asked who he believes is the most dangerous fighter in the UFC right now. While White offered up some notable names like Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, Islam Makhachev, and Ilia Topuria, he shockingly snubbed Pereira, much to the chagrin of fight fans.

“Jon Jones is still the best ever, the best of all time,” White said. “But we have tons of guys that are [dangerous]. Islam [Makhachev], who is now the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. I mean, the list goes on and on. Ilia Topuria is one of the best of all time. Max Holloway is still one of the nastiest guys on the planet. Lots and lots of really tough guys.”

UFC fans slam Dana White’s ‘Most Dangerous’ List

While some fans pointed out that White overlooked names like Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, many were in agreement that ‘Poatan’ should have at the very least been listed among the above names, if not above them.

“Surprised he didn’t mention Alex Pereira in that group,” one user commented. “That’s the only one I’d add to the most dangerous guys in the UFC right now.”

“How did Alex Pereira not pop up in his head during this moment,” another questioned.

“Most dangerous is ‘Poatan’ and Topuria cause they can knock you into another dimension,” a third wrote.

Alex Pereira Goes for his fourth light heavyweight title defense at UFC 313

Pereira, of course, has been on an absolute tear since making his promotional debut just a few short years ago. In just 10 fights inside the Octagon, he’s claimed both the middleweight and light heavyweight titles and earned wins over a slew of former champions, including Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, Jamahal Hill, Khalil Rountree, and Jiri Prochazka twice.

To many, ‘Poatan’ is not just the baddest man in the UFC, but he’s the promotion’s biggest active star. He’s also been a consummate company man, defending his title twice in the span of nine weeks between his appearances at UFC 300 and UFC 303.

He’ll go for a fourth-straight defense on March 8 when he returns to the Octagon for a clash with the division’s top-ranked contender, Magomed Ankalaev, at UFC 313 in Las Vegas.

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Dricus Du Plessis Explains Why Alex Pereira Is ‘The Most Achieved Combat Sports Athlete The World’s Ever Seen’

The reigning UFC middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, has been following Alex Pereira’s career closely for years and thinks he is easily one of the most accomplished combat sports athletes in the world. The South African is set to defend his title for the second time at UFC 312 against a familiar opponent he faced […]

The South African is set to defend his title for the second time at UFC 312 against a familiar opponent he faced last year, Sean Strickland. The bad blood between the two fighters is yet to be settled, and they’re promising another back-and-forth war to fans worldwide.

At UFC 297, “Stillknocks” had clinched the UFC middleweight title via a split decision. However, his first title defense against two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was definitely more promising as he became the first athelete to submit “The Last Stylebender”.

On the other hand, Strickland is coming off a much less exciting but dominant win over Paulo Costa.

Interestingly, in the first fight, the American had Pereira in his corner and the UFC light heavyweight champion will be in his corner at UFC 312 as well. Du Plessis considers the Brazilian a potential opponent and in a recent interview with Mark Bouris, he sent a chilling message to “Poatan”.

“How’s it going to feel to be in Sean Strickland’s corner losing again…One day when we fight, he’ll be zero and 2.”

Despite the cold trash talk, Du Plessis also praised his fellow UFC champ by saying:

“I think he is one of the greatest combat athletes to ever live. He is a phenomenal athlete. to go in a short period of time from a different sport and not just a different sport, kickboxing, which is not a great base for MMA. It helps, but if that’s the only thing you know, not a great base if you want to go up against these wrestling guys. He came in and just went through everyone after being one of the greatest K1 kickboxers to ever live. I mean in multiple titles at the highest level comes in a short period of time and just becomes a two, like middle weight champion, goes to light heavyweight, becomes champion and being one of the biggest names, always, like always ready to fight.”

After acknolweding Pereira’s impressive and quick rise in MMA after a massively successful kickboxing career, he explained why the UFC light heavyweight kingpin is a special combat sports athelete:

“I have the world’s respect for him as a fighter, I think and you know, as a person even I think. We are rivals, but, you know, I have the utmost respect for what he’s achieved in the sport and he’s truly one of the goats to ever. Not [just] MMA or in the UFC , in combat sports. I think, probably, the most acheived combat sports athlete the world’s ever seen.”

As of now, Du Plessis is locked in for what could be another slugfest with Strickland on Saturday at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although the middlweight division is stacked with contenders like Khamzat Chimaev, Nassourdine Imavov, and Caio Borralho, the champion might show interest in moving up for a superfight against Pereira.

VIDEO: Israel Adesanya Fails To Replicate Alex Pereira’s Iconic UFC 300 Feat

After being one of the most dominant UFC champions ever, Israel Adesanya has now lost four of his last five fights in the promotion. While the losses to Alex Pereira, Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland came in title fights, Nassourdine Imavov became the first fighter to beat “The Last Stylebender” in a non-title fight. […]

Unsurprisingly, Adesanya dominated the first round with a tactical approach. Using his reach advantage and feints, the former UFC middleweight champion landed a few heavy kicks on the body and limbs, keeping his opponent unsettled.

Izzy, who usually starts slow and relies on counter-striking, could be seen putting the pressure on Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia. “The Sniper” only landed a solid uppercut in the first round and failed to secure any takedowns.

Things took a sudden turn in the second round, though. Adesanya started with a high pace yet again but suffered an eye poke 20 seconds into the round. Marc Goddard stepped in to check if the former champ wanted time to recover but was asked to let the fight continue.

To everyone’s surprise, Imavov knocked down Adesanya in the very next exchange after the eye poke and got the TKO win. After the fight, fans could not help but draw parallels to Pereira’s UFC 300 main event against Jamahal Hill. The challenger hit “Poatan” in the groin which led to Herb Dean stepping in like Marc Goddard to check on the affected fighter.

Just like Izzy, Pereira shrugged away the referee and in the very next exchange, knocked out Hill with a left hook to defend his UFC light heavyweight championship. Considering “Poatan” and “The Last Stylebender” are long-time rivals, it was interesting for many fans how both of them stopped the referee from intervening but got completely opposite results right away.

The tweets embedded below show just two of the many fans who believe that Izzy failed to recreate Pereira’s iconic UFC 300 KO win:

As usual, Adesanya has no excuses for his KO loss to Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia. And of course, he wasn’t trying to copy his former rival by not allowing Goddard to stop the action during his fight. However, considering his long history with Pereira, it’s nonetheless amusing how their stories were intertwined yet again.

Former UFC Champ Sounds the Alarm: Alex Pereira Is Taking a HUGE Risk at UFC 312

Alex Pereira is just a few weeks away from his toughest test yet under the UFC banner. On March…

Alex Pereira is just a few weeks away from his toughest test yet under the UFC banner.

On March 8, ‘Poatan’ will step back inside the Octagon set to defend his light heavyweight championship for a fourth time. But unlike his previous opponents — Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree — Pereira will be facing a fighter with both knockout power and world-class grappling.

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Magomed Ankalev, the 205-pound division’s top-ranked contender, has earned his spot in the UFC 313 headliner via an impressive 11-1-1 under the UFC banner and a streak that has seen him go unbeaten since September 2018. He’s also the man many believe holds to key to defeating ‘Poatan’ and ending the Brazilian boogeyman’s dominant reign at light heavyweight.

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‘The Count’ calls Pereira’s fight with Ankalaev at UFC 313 a ‘Risky move’

That list of people appears to include UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping who suggested that Pereira is taking a huge risk by fighting Ankalaev.

“DC thinks it’s a bad idea. I’ve got a theory on why he’s saying that,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “The reality is, for Alex Pereira, flying to the other side of the world just weeks before his title fight against Magomed Ankalaev, a guy many believe is his toughest matchup at 205, is a risky move. And I probably agree.

Daniel Cormier pointed out that once you go to Australia, you have to deal with jet lag, different food, and a disrupted training regimen. Those are all valid concerns. Meanwhile, the whole time Pereira is doing that, Magomed Ankalaev is working his ass off. Because if Pereira beats him, he cements his own legendary status. But every moment spent standing around with Sean Strickland and doing media, he’s not improving his game, he’s not working on takedown defense, and that could be a problem.

It should be noted that UFC 313 is taking place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, not Australia. Bisping was likely confusing next month’s pay-per-view with this Saturday’s in The Land Down Under which will see Dricus Du Plessis defend his middleweight strap against Sean Strickland in a main event rematch.

Even so, ‘The Count’ makes a strong point.