Former UFC champion thinks Dricus du Plessis would beat Alex Pereira in super fight: ‘I’ll definitely put my money on DDP’

One former UFC double champion believes Dricus du Plessis would defeat Alex Pereira if the two share the Octagon.

Following du Plessis’ dominant middleweight title defense over Sean Strickland in their rematch at UFC 312, “Stillknocks” challenged Pereira, the reigning light heavyweight champion. Du Plessis later clarified to reporters that he expects to fight Khamzat Chimaev next, but he wants the “Poatan” bout if he gets past “Borz.”

While some believe that du Plessis’ awkward standup style won’t work against an all-time striker in Pereira, one former UFC titleholder doesn’t exactly agree with that notion.

RELATED: DRICUS DU PLESSIS FOCUSED ON KHAMZAT CHIMAEV NEXT, NOT ALEX PEREIRA FOLLOWING UFC 312

Henry Cejudo Puts His Money on DDP over Poatan

During a recent episode of “Pound for Pound w/Kamaru and Henry,” former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo shared his belief that Dricus du Plessis’ fighting style would cause Alex Pereira some problems.

“If he does get past through a guy like Khamzat Chimaev and Alex Pereira does get past through Ankalaev, you got to set both of these guys up,” Cejudo said. “If you’re asking me now, Kamaru, if we do see a matchup between DDP and Alex Pereira, even though I do believe that Pereira’s gonna beat Ankalaev, I’ll definitely put my money on DDP.

“I think DDP stylistically is a problem, dude. I know DDP’s gonna go in there and f*cking wrestle. I think with the grappling, I think that can be very problematic.”

Cejudo admitted that du Plessis would have to be wary of Pereira’s counter striking. He said that DDP’s strikes look sloppy at times, and that could leave the door open for “Poatan” to land something devastating.

Before one can look at Pereira vs. du Plessis as a realistic fight, the reigning 205-pound king has business to settle first. Pereira is scheduled to put his gold at stake against Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313 on March 8th. It’ll be a stern test for Pereira in the grappling department.

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