Alex Pereira Eyes Return to Middleweight After Dricus Du Plessis UFC 305 Title Win

There might be a fight between Alex Pereira and Dricus Du Plessis in the future.

Pereira revealed he plans on returning to middleweight at 185 pounds one more time. The timing was certainly notable, especially with Du Plessis on the television behind him. After all, Du Plessis just defeated Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on Saturday to retain his middleweight belt.

Saturday's fight was a thrilling one, as it marked Du Plessis' first defense of the middleweight title after he initially won it by defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January. It was also Adesanya's first fight since he lost his middleweight title against Strickland at UFC 293 last September.

Adesanya built some early momentum, but Du Plessis proved to be too difficult.

The latter forced a tap from a rear-naked choke during the fourth round to improve to 22-2 overall in MMA and 8-0 in UFC.

It didn't take long for the idea of a fight between Du Plessis and Pereira to pick up speed given the social media post, but the middleweight title holder told reporters he would be willing to move up to 205 pounds in an effort to avoid hearing "excuses" from Pereira's team.

"I honestly don't think Alex Pereira should drop down to 185," Du Plessis said. "If he wants to? Great. Perfect. But then we're going to hear the excuses. I saw Izzy stiff that man in the (second) round. I felt Izzy's punching power. Izzy has great timing. He's fast, he's long and he has great combinations, but I felt the power. If Izzy stiffens you like that, you do not want to be there in with me—especially not when you're going to come with the excuse of, 'I cut too much weight.'

"... So let me handle my business, you handle your business. You don't have to cut the weight to 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."

Pereira moved up to 205 pounds after losing to Adesanya in 2023 and is since 3-0. He is also scheduled to face Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307, and a victory could build hype for a potential showdown with Du Plessis.

That is especially the case if there is any additional back-and-forth about the weight class.