UFC lightweight champion Alex Pereira indicated his interest in fighting Dricus du Plessis after watching him defend his title against Israel Adesanya last month, and now a fortnight later he’s doubled down on that plan.
“I’m focused on my next fight and I’m going prepared,” Pereira said on Instagram of his upcoming bout against Khalil Rountree Jr at UFC 307. “But you never know what can happen.
“So, regardless of the result, I want to go down one more time to middleweight and go for the belt.”
“Hey, Dricus, bring your will to fight me so that you can prove that you are better than me. With your public statement, it is easy to make this happen. Chama.”
DDP had countered Pereira’s initial call-out after UFC 305 by saying that rather than the Brazilian ace dropping down to 185lbs, he would rather move up and challenge him for his 205lb title instead.
However, it seems that option doesn’t appeal to Pereira, and instead he has his eyes on reclaiming the middleweight title he lost to Adesanya in April of 2023, which would enable him to become one of the few fighters in UFC history to rule the roost in two divisions at the same time.
And of course Pereira also has made it known he’d be willing to go up to heavyweight to challenge for the title there too, so he has a wealth of options to choose from if he is able to beat Rountree Jr on October 5th.
