Tag: dricus du plessis

“He’s F*ing Nasty” – Dana White Responds to Alex Pereira’s Plans to Move Back to 185

“He’s F*ing Nasty” - Dana White Responds to Alex Pereira’s Plans to Move Back to 185Dana White loves that Alex Pereira wants to fight everybody. It only took ‘Poatan’ seven fights inside the Octagon…

“He’s F*ing Nasty” - Dana White Responds to Alex Pereira’s Plans to Move Back to 185

Dana White loves that Alex Pereira wants to fight everybody.

It only took ‘Poatan’ seven fights inside the Octagon to etch his name in the history books as a two-division world champion, capturing both the middleweight and light heavyweight titles. On October 5, the ‘Brazilian Boogeyman’ will step into the main event spotlight for his third title defense of 2024 when he meets heavy-hitting contender Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City.

There, Pereira will put his 205-pound crown on the line following a pair of highlight-reel KOs against former champions Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka.

Alex Pereira

Even though Pereira already has another fight lined up, ‘Poatan’ recently expressed interest in venturing back down to 185 for a fight with current middleweight king Dricus Du Plessis.

Asked about Pereira’s plans following Tuesday’s edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, the UFC CEO said that Pereira’s desire to fight anyone and everyone is a very good problem for the promotion to have.

“My take on him is, he’s f*cking nasty,” White told reporters at Tuesday’s DWCS post-fight press conference. “That’s my take on him. He wants to move up. He wants to move down. He wants to go everywhere. That’s why people love him. Those are the type of fighters people love. Pereira wants to fight everybody. I love it.

“… The thing that’s great about it is, this is why I said a minute ago everybody loves him and he’s great. But it also gives us a ton of options that as we’re in matchmaking, ‘Should we do this, should we do that? Shouldn’t we do this, shouldn’t we do that?’ It’s a good problem to have with a guy like him. How about he’s on vacation and accepts the last-minute fight? Everything about Alex Pereira is what makes fans absolutely love the guy” (h/t MMA Junkie).

‘DDP’ warns Alex Pereira against moving back down to middleweight

Following his fourth-round submission victory over Israel Adesanya in Perth, Du Plessis is expected to rematch the man he took the title from in January, Sean Strickland.

gettyimages 1949111489 612x612 1 1

Responding to Pereira’s challenge, ‘DDP’ was seemingly open to the potential superfight and broke out a little MMA math by pointing out the fact that Pereira once got slept by the guy he just tapped out in The Land Down Under.

“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” (h/t Sports Illustrated).

gettyimages 2167220998 612x612 1

‘Colby Covington With An Afrikaans Accent’ – MMA Fans Hammer Du Plessis After He Proposes Pereira vs. Strickland Title Eliminator

UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis could well have his next two title defenses already laid out in front of him if he keeps hold of the belt. After earning his first successful defense by submitting Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, a rematch is seemingly on the cards for his new challenge. Sean Strickland and […]

Continue Reading ‘Colby Covington With An Afrikaans Accent’ – MMA Fans Hammer Du Plessis After He Proposes Pereira vs. Strickland Title Eliminator at MMA News.

UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis could well have his next two title defenses already laid out in front of him if he keeps hold of the belt.

After earning his first successful defense by submitting Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, a rematch is seemingly on the cards for his new challenge.

Sean Strickland and Du Plessis fought to a very close split decision at UFC 297 to kick off the year where “Stillknocks” became champion.

However, another challenger looms overhead at this time as Alex Pereira is apparently planning to move back down to middleweight for one more fight, after his light heavyweight title defense at UFC 307.

Given the fact that Strickland and Pereira have become friends after they met inside the Octagon at UFC 276, Du Plessis suggested that they should fight each other for the number one contender status rather than challenging him one after the other.

MMA Fans React To Dricus Du Plessis Calling The Middleweight Shots

The fans on social media didn’t respond well to Du Plessis’ call for Strickland and Pereira to run it back, which isn’t necessarily surprising given the large and vocal fan bases of both fighters.

Though some were complimenting the champion’s trash talk, many didn’t see why “Poatan” would possibly fight anyone but the titleholder at this stage.

“Makes literally no sense. Alex would immediately get a title shot if he wanted being he’s the champ and has already been the MW champ before. Silly to even say this”

“New champions always talk like they run the UFC. It’s f***** annoying.”

“alex and a contender fight do not go together”

“DDP just says stupid s*** and idiots eat it up. He’s Colby Covington with an Afrikaans accent.”

“Bro is scared af. There’s absolutely no reason alex should be fighting Sean lmao”

“Damn dricus low key a decent s*** talker”

“doesnt make sense considering that Pereira is a champ who already beat strickland”

Read also: Demetrious Johnson Gives Stamp Of Approval To UFC Champion

Continue Reading ‘Colby Covington With An Afrikaans Accent’ – MMA Fans Hammer Du Plessis After He Proposes Pereira vs. Strickland Title Eliminator at MMA News.

Dricus Du Plessis Threatens He Will Sleep Both Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland

Dricus Du Plessis Threatens He Will Sleep Both Alex Pereira and Sean StricklandDricus Du Plessis plans to “sleep” both Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland and he’s happy to let them decide…

Dricus Du Plessis Threatens He Will Sleep Both Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland

Dricus Du Plessis plans to “sleep” both Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland and he’s happy to let them decide which one goes night-night first.

After earning a win over Strickland in January to win the UFC middleweight title, ‘DDP’ scored his first successful defense last month, besting Israel Adesanya in Perth via a fourth-round submission victory via RNC.

Dricus Du Plessis

Immediately following the win, Pereira, who held the 185-pound title before moving up to light heavyweight, revealed his plan to move back down to middleweight one last time to challenge Du Plessis. While a rematch with Strickland is almost certainly up next for Du Plessis, the South African star is more than happy to beat down both fighters.

As for who’s first, he doesn’t really care.

Dricus Du Plessis

“@AlexPereiraUFC you and you boyfriend @SStricklandMMA can have a domestic dispute on who gets slept first,” Du Plessis wrote on X.

Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 is on the horizon as Pereira marches toward his third title defense of 2024

With Alex Pereira already booked for his third title defense of 2024 on October 5 and Strickland choosing to sit out until he gets his rematch with Du Plessis, the likeliest scenario is that we’ll see ‘DDP’ vs. Strickland 2 going down sometime in early 2025.

The two first met last January at UFC 297 when ‘Tarzan’ entered the bout as the middleweight champion. The pair delivered an entertaining five-round scrap that saw ‘DDP’ walk away with the win via a very close and highly contestable split decision.

Dricus Du Plessis

Strickland lobbied for an immediate rematch but was forced to go back down the rankings and get another win first. He did exactly that in June, defeating Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

Dricus Du Plessis

Dricus Du Plessis Threatens He Will Sleep Both Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland

Dricus Du Plessis Threatens He Will Sleep Both Alex Pereira and Sean StricklandDricus Du Plessis plans to “sleep” both Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland and he’s happy to let them decide…

Dricus Du Plessis Threatens He Will Sleep Both Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland

Dricus Du Plessis plans to “sleep” both Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland and he’s happy to let them decide which one goes night-night first.

After earning a win over Strickland in January to win the UFC middleweight title, ‘DDP’ scored his first successful defense last month, besting Israel Adesanya in Perth via a fourth-round submission victory via RNC.

Dricus Du Plessis

Immediately following the win, Pereira, who held the 185-pound title before moving up to light heavyweight, revealed his plan to move back down to middleweight one last time to challenge Du Plessis. While a rematch with Strickland is almost certainly up next for Du Plessis, the South African star is more than happy to beat down both fighters.

As for who’s first, he doesn’t really care.

Dricus Du Plessis

“@AlexPereiraUFC you and you boyfriend @SStricklandMMA can have a domestic dispute on who gets slept first,” Du Plessis wrote on X.

Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 is on the horizon as Pereira marches toward his third title defense of 2024

With Alex Pereira already booked for his third title defense of 2024 on October 5 and Strickland choosing to sit out until he gets his rematch with Du Plessis, the likeliest scenario is that we’ll see ‘DDP’ vs. Strickland 2 going down sometime in early 2025.

The two first met last January at UFC 297 when ‘Tarzan’ entered the bout as the middleweight champion. The pair delivered an entertaining five-round scrap that saw ‘DDP’ walk away with the win via a very close and highly contestable split decision.

Dricus Du Plessis

Strickland lobbied for an immediate rematch but was forced to go back down the rankings and get another win first. He did exactly that in June, defeating Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

Dricus Du Plessis

Alex Pereira Plans Move to 185 to Take Middleweight Crown From Dricus du Plessis

Alex Pereira Plans Move to 185 to Take Middleweight Crown From Dricus du PlessisAlex Pereira already has a light heavyweight title defense lined up for next month, but that isn’t stopping ‘Poatan’…

Alex Pereira Plans Move to 185 to Take Middleweight Crown From Dricus du Plessis

Alex Pereira already has a light heavyweight title defense lined up for next month, but that isn’t stopping ‘Poatan’ from chomping at the bit to challenge middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.

In August, ‘DDP’ scored his first successful defense of the 185-pound crown, submitting Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of their UFC 305 headliner in Perth. Chances are, a rematch with the man he took the title from earlier this year, Sean Strickland, is next on his itinerary, but could we see ‘Poatan’ sneak in and snatch the opportunity away from ‘Tarzan’ in 2025?

Alex Pereira and Dricus Du Plessis

Immediately after Du Plessis defeated Adesanya, Pereira teased a potential return to middleweight for a showdown with the South African star.

However, Du Plessis was quick to quiet talk of a clash with ‘Poatan’ at 185. Instead, ‘Stillknocks’ likes the idea of moving up to light heavyweight and challenging Pereira for his light heavyweight strap.

“You don’t have to cut the weight so you have some sort of excuse,” Du Plessis said during the UFC 305 post-fight presser. “I’ll come up after the Strickland fight. I’ll come up to 205 and we’ll sort it out there.”

Alex Pereira doubles down on one final move to 185

Responding to Du Plessis’ comment, Pereira doubled down on his desire to venture back down to 185 one final time in hopes of kickstarting yet another title reign.

Alex Pereira and Dricus Du Plessis

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

Pereira, of course, claimed the middleweight title in late 2022 with a fifth-round knockout of Adesanya at UFC 281. ‘Poatan’ gave the title back to Adesanya five months later before moving up to 205 where he won that division’s top prize last November.

At the moment, Pereira is preparing to defend his 205-pound title for the third time in 2024 when he meets No. 8 ranked contender Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 on October 5.

Alex Pereira vs. Rountree

Pereira has already scored a pair of highlight-reel KOs against Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka this year.

Alex Pereira

Alex Pereira Reiterates Plan For Middleweight Return Post-UFC 307, Magomed Ankalaev Reacts With Anger

It would appear that UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira’s middleweight tease last month was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Pereira’s first taste of title success on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage came at 185 pounds, where he unseated Israel Adesanya in late 2022. Having fallen short in his first defense, “Poatan” bid farewell to the […]

Continue Reading Alex Pereira Reiterates Plan For Middleweight Return Post-UFC 307, Magomed Ankalaev Reacts With Anger at MMA News.

It would appear that UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira’s middleweight tease last month was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Pereira’s first taste of title success on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage came at 185 pounds, where he unseated Israel Adesanya in late 2022. Having fallen short in his first defense, “Poatan” bid farewell to the division and ventured up to 205 pounds.

Since then, the Brazilian has tasted nothing but success, capturing the light heavyweight gold in his sophomore outing in the division last year and recording two successful defenses at the expense of Jamahal Hill and Ji?í Procházka this year.

Pereira’s next task will be dispatching the third challenger to his current reign, with the former Glory Kickboxing champion set to headline UFC 307 in Salt Lake City against Khalil Rountree early next month.

But defeating “The War Horse” isn’t the only thing on Pereira’s mind.

Prior to his next matchup being announced, “Poatan” teased a surprise return to middleweight, calling out champ Dricus Du Plessis in the immediate aftermath of his victory over Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia in August.

Despite having business to attend to at light heavyweight for the time being, Pereira recently took to social media to reiterate that he has one eye on the South African, whom he plans on pursuing regardless of the result inside Delta Center on October 5.

“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. “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 ?”

Ankalaev Slams Pereira In Response To Fresh MW Ambitions: ‘You Are Weak!’

One man who was quick to take aim at Pereira for his callout of Du Plessis last month was Magomed Ankalaev, the current #2-ranked light heavyweight contender.

The Dagestani has been calling for his shot ever since the champ’s quick knockout of Hill at UFC 300. But after being passed up in favor of “BJP” this past July and the lower-ranked Rountree this fall, many have questioned the promotion’s apparent reluctance to grant Ankalaev a shot.

And although it appears that a victory over Aleksandar Raki? at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi late next month would make his claim undeniable, Pereira’s newfound ambitions of a second middleweight reign could present yet another hurdle.

That fact has unsurprisingly frustrated Ankalaev, who took to X shortly after Pereira’s post to brand him “weak” for continuing to avoid him.

“You are so weak @AlexPereiraUFC you only pick on the guys who are in lower division than you and you think you can beat them people are not stupid there is a reason why you are fighting Khalil and not me,” Ankalaev wrote.

For now, both Pereira and Ankalaev have opponents to deal with in October. Should the latter emerge victorious, calls for him to be placed opposite “Poatan” next time out will no doubt only increase.

Continue Reading Alex Pereira Reiterates Plan For Middleweight Return Post-UFC 307, Magomed Ankalaev Reacts With Anger at MMA News.