Alex Pereira has declared his intentions to return to 185-pounds in pursuit of regaining the UFC’s middleweight title.
Brazil’s Pereira, the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, suggested in recent days that he would be more than open to returning to the division in which he was champion between November 2022 and April 2023 in a move that would potentially set up a champion vs. champion showdown with the reigning 185-pound kingpin Dricus du Plessis.
And posting to social media early on Tuesday Pereira, who is due to defend his crown against Khalil Rountree in October, again stated his desire to test his skills against the South African champion who recently defended his title against longtime Pereira rival Israel Adesanya.
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“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,” the message posted to Pereira’s official Instagram page read.
“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.”
@AlexPereiraUFC you and you boyfriend @SStricklandMMA can have a domestic dispute on who gets slept first💤😴
— Dricus Du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) September 3, 2024
For his part, Du Plessis said that he would welcome the challenge, writing on social media: “You and your boyfriend [Sean Strickland] can have a domestic dispute on who gets slept first.”
Strickland, whom Du Plessis defeated to gain the title earlier this year, has been mentioned by UFC brass as being the next likely challenger for the 185-pound crown, while the winner of October’s bout between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev is also expected to be in contention.
Pereira won the UFC light heavyweight championship last November and has defended it twice against Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka.
