Dricus du Plessis laughs off Belal Muhammad’s threat of a middleweight move: “Have you seen the size of the man?”

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis isn’t worried about Belal Muhammad.

‘Stillknocks’ is fresh off his return to the cage at UFC 312 earlier this month. Back for the first time since submitting Israel Adesanya last fall, Dricus du Plessis again met Sean Strickland. While their bout last January was a barnburner that ended in a split-decision, the second outing couldn’t be more different. Du Plessis dominated ‘Tarzan’ across five rounds, ultimately earning a lopsided decision win.

Following the win, the South African has entered a back-and-forth with UFC welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad. ‘Remember The Name’ is currently expected to meet Shavkat Rakhmonov in his next title defense, but is already looking at a move to middleweight. Earlier this week, Muhammad took aim at both Dricus du Plessis and the aforementioned Strickland.

“I think 185 is probably the easiest weight class [in the UFC],” welterweight champion Belal Muhammad stated to Barstool Sports earlier this week. “Besides Khamzat [Chimaev]… Bro, [Sean] Strickland and [Dricus] du Plessis suck.”

RELATED: JOE ROGAN REVEALS HE PASSED ON KAMALA HARRIS PODCAST TO WATCH ILIA TOPURIA VS. MAX HOLLOWAY: “THAT WAS A HUGE FIGHT!”

“I like how [Belal Muhammad] acts as if he has a choice to ever go up to 185. The UFC will never let him… The UFC doesn’t even like Belal Muhammad. So what makes him think that? He hasn’t even defended his belt once. He’s definitely better on Twitter than he is in fights.

[A… pic.twitter.com/5ubXuGtkDT

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 18, 2025

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis reacts to Belal Muhammad’s comments

Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show earlier today, Dricus du Plessis reacted to Belal Muhammad’s recent comments. There, the UFC middleweight champion largely laughed off the idea that he’ll be facing the welterweight anytime soon. ‘Stillknocks’ added that Dana White doesn’t even like Muhammad, so why would he grant him the opportunity to become a two-weight champion?

“Belal Muhammad, I can’t even remember with the way he fights. Has he ever finished anyone?” Dricus du Plessis stated earlier today. “… I like how he acts like he even has a choice if he’ll move up to 185. The UFC will never let him. Like, if he wanted to do that, he’ll have to abandon and give up his belt. He’ll have to vacate and go up to 185, and there’s no way they’ll give him a direct title shot.”

He continued, “There’s no way! The UFC doesn’t even like Belal Muhammad. He hasn’t even defended his belt once! He’s definitely better on Twitter than he is in fights, I have to say that… No [I’m not intrigued by the matchup], that would be unfair. If I fight Belal it would be unfair. Have you seen the size of the man? What is he going to do?”

What do you make of these comments from the UFC middleweight champion? Do you want to see Dricus du Plessis vs. Belal Muhammad?