Alex Pereira makes huge claim in immediate reaction to Dricus Du Plessis' win over Adesanya (2024)

UFC light-heavyweight king Alex Pereira has expressed his desire to move back down to middleweight in a bid to become a two-division champion.

The Brazilian's inclination to become a two-time middleweight champion came after Dricus Du Plessis shocked the world and submitted Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth.

The 30-year-old South African native put on a scintillating performance in enemy territory to spoil 'The Last Stylebender's' comeback plans and once again showed why he's the best middleweight on the planet.

While it will take some doing to dethrone the current 185lbs king, Pereira certainly fancies his chances as 'Poatan' aims to create history yet again inside the UFC Octagon.

The Brazilian retained his 205-pound belt in his last outing with a stunning second-round head kick knockout win over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 in June.

'Poatan' Wants to Move Back Down to Middleweight

Pereira is looking to become a two-division champion

After Du Plessis successfully defended his middleweight title for the first time against Adesanya, the champion was quick to show his respect to the former middleweight king.

While a rematch with Sean Strickland looks next for Du Plessis, it would appear that the champion has another interested opponent ahead of his next outing.

Pereira was a keen observer of the UFC 305 main event in Australia. Immediately after the completion of the pay-per-view event, the Brazilian was quick to share his thoughts on the bout and revealed his intentions to move back down to his former weight class.

Taking to Instagram, the light-heavyweight champion uploaded a picture of him sitting next to the TV - which showed Du Plessis getting the belt wrapped around his waist. 'Poatan' captioned the post: "Coming down to 185 one more time."

With Du Plessis already holding a win over Strickland, he's yet to face Pereira and a showdown with the UFC superstar could tempt the South African.

Since he was signed to the UFC back in 2021, 'Poatan' has established himself as a real star and is now one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.

The 37-year-old became a UFC champion in just his fourth fight in the organisation, knocking out former middleweight champion Adesanya at UFC 281 back in 2022.

The Brazilian Must First Defend His Light-Heavyweight Title

Pereira has a title fight booked for October

With the Brazilian eager to move back down to middleweight, Pereira must first get through his upcoming opponent. His next defence of his undisputed UFC light-heavyweight title was recently made official.

The Brazilian superstar will return to the Octagon on the 5th of October at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to defend his gold for the third time.

Despite there naturally being a lot of hype around the announcement of Pereira's next bout, the choice of opponent that the UFC have gone with is a curious one.

As happy as fans will be to see Pereira in action for the fourth time in less than 12 months, the UFC's choice of opponent came as a shock to many. While many thought the Brazilian would face Russian contender Magomed Ankalaev next, Dana White confirmed that 'Poatan' will fight number eight-ranked light heavyweight Khalil Rountree.

While he's currently on a five-fight win streak, with four of those wins coming via knockout, Rountree has defeated just one ranked opponent during that run.

Controversially, the American has been handed a crack at the title despite being pulled out of his planned bout with Jamahal Hill at UFC 303 after he was discovered to have a banned substance in his body following a routine doping test. Per MMA Fighting, Rountree remains under suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission as a result of that failure.