Alex Pereira doubles down on middleweight return vs. Dricus du Plessis: “Bring your will”

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira didn’t take long to respond to Dricus du Plessis’s latest taunts on social media about a potential fight.

Pereira will defend the UFC light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. He returns to the Octagon after successful defenses against Jamahal Hill and Jiří Procházka in 2024.

As Pereira prepares for his next title defense, he’s teased a potential return to middleweight. After du Plessis defeated Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, Pereira warned the middleweight champion that a return to 185lbs was on his radar.

Du Plessis aimed at Pereira in a recent tweet.

https://twitter.com/dricusduplessis/status/1830918138659033273

Alex Pereira responds to Dricus du Plessis’ tweet

In a recent Instagram post, Pereira responded to du Plessis’ latest jabs.

 

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A post shared by Alex “Poatan” Pereira (@alexpoatanpereira)

“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 posted. “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.”

Du Plessis will likely face Sean Strickland in a rematch of their UFC 297 instant classic. Strickland defeated Paulo Costa at UFC 302 to remain at the top of the rankings.

Pereira became the fastest to earn a UFC middleweight championship when he finished Adesanya at UFC 281. Adesanya got the better of him in their rematch at UFC 287, defeating him by knockout.

After the Adesanya rematch, Pereira moved up to light heavyweight. He won the then-vacant title by finishing Procházka last November.

Pereira and du Plessis could potentially be on a collision course, depending on the results of their upcoming bouts. For now, the mental warfare is ramping up between the two brawlers.