UFC analyst Michael Bisping believes Dricus Du Plessis would be a tough challenge for Alex Pereira.
South Africa’s Du Plessis, the reigning UFC middleweight champion, was back in action in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 305 card in Perth, Australia, submitting MMA legend Israel Adesanya in the fourth round to retain his title.
Shortly after the fight, light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira took to social media to express his interest in moving down to middleweight to challenge Du Plessis.
Speaking at the UFC 305 post-fight press conference, Du Plessis accepted Pereira’s challenge, but suggested the potential fight should take place at light heavyweight rather than middleweight.
Bisping, a former middleweight champion, is a fan of the idea and believes Du Plessis has the skills to emerge victorious.
“As a fan, I would love to see Dricus versus Alex Pereira,” he said on his YouTube channel. “I’ll tell you, I think it’s a fight where he would give Pereira a lot of problems. We don’t see a lot of grappling from Pereira.
“The way he submitted Israel Adesanya – something no one else has been able to do – if he can do that to Izzy, he can probably do that to Alex Pereira.
While Bisping is excited about a potential Pereira vs. Du Plessis fight, he noted that Pereira is currently booked to defend his title against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 on October 5.
He also argued that if Pereira beats Rountree, he should defend his title against number one contender Magomed Ankalaev before Du Plessis gets the chance.
“Pereira has to go through Khalil Rountree,” he said. “That’s not a given.
“If he wins, and I assume he will be the bookmakers’ big favourite, the next player will certainly be Magomed Ankalaev.”
Pereira, a former two-division kickboxing champion for Glory, first became a UFC champion in 2022, when he knocked out Adesanya to win the middleweight belt. After losing the belt to Adesanya in a rematch, he then moved up to light heavyweight and, late last year, won the vacant title in the division by knocking out Jiri Prochazka. He has defended the belt twice since then, first knocking out former champion Jamahal Hill and then knocking out Prochazka again in a rematch.
Du Plessis won the middleweight belt with a close decision over Sean Strickland earlier this year. His victory over Adesanya marked the first successful title defense of his reign.
