Dricus Du Plessis warns Islam Makhachev of pursuing middleweight title: “He’s dreaming real big”

Dricus Du Plessis has warned Islam Makhachev of pursuing the middleweight title.

Makhachev previously shared his intentions of becoming a champ-champ, but after Belal Muhammad became the welterweight champ, those plans seemingly went out the window. However, Islam’s coach Javier Mendez recently came out and expressed interest in Makhachev moving all the way up to middleweight to try and win that title.

“Maybe Islam gains weight and goes 185. I mean, he’d have to gain weight, obviously, because that’s a little big for him. You never know. He’s that good. Pound-for-pound No. 1 for a reason,” Mendez said to Red Corner MMA.

After Mendez’s comments, UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis issued a warning to Islam Makhachev as he believes the size difference will be too much for him at middleweight.

Dricus du Plessis laughs at the idea of Islam Makhachev moving up to middleweight:

"Everybody can dream right… dream big, but he's dreaming REAL big. I'm VERY big."

🎥 @KevinI #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/5zV7iwbRKa

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 8, 2024

“I mean what can I say? Everybody can dream right, I always say never cap your dreams, dream big, but he’s dreaming real big. I’m very big,” Du Plessis told Kevin Iole.

If Islam Makhachev indeed did move up to middleweight it would be a 30-pound jump which does seem like a lot. Du Plessis also doubts the lightweight champ will have success at middleweight as the strength he has at 155lbs would likely be negated at middleweight. It’s also unclear if the UFC would even let Makhachev get a middleweight title shot.

As for Dricus Du Plessis, he is set to return to the Octagon next Saturday in the main event of UFC 305 against Israel Adesanya. Du Plessis is looking for his first defense of his middleweight title in what should be a highly-anticipated bout as the two have taken shots at one another for years now.

Dricus Du Plessis became the middleweight champion with a split-decision win over Sean Strickland back in January. The South African is a perfect 7-0 in the UFC.