Dricus du Plessis saw what could have been one of his career slip biggest fights from his grasp last weekend.
In the main event of UFC 313, Magomed Ankalaev defeated Alex Pereira, claiming a light heavyweight title and potentially ruining Pereira’s plan to chase the champions in other divisions. One of those champions was Duplesis. He previously welcomed Pereira back to 185 pounds to face him.
Pereira won the UFC middleweight title from Israel Adesanya in 2022 before quickly revisiting Adesanya in a rematch before moving up to light heavyweight. He frequently spoke about the possibility of trying his hands at heavyweight and returning to middleweight, but Duplesis believes his losses limit his options and remove their fight from the table.
“I’m grateful to Ankaraev for having the biggest payday of my life,” Duplesis said on a YouTube video blog. “That’s not personal.”
Du Plessis’ commentary came shortly after the conclusion of UFC 313, and he was extremely critical of Pereira’s performance. The South African star has previously said that not only has a formula to stop Pereira’s proud blow, but he also watches him knock Pereira out if they fought.
Ankaraev didn’t finish Pereira, but he did enough to win the scorecard, and Duplesis believes he used the precise strategy that Ankaraev needed to soften “Poatan.”
“Listen and see what I said first,” Duplesis said he was watching the fight live. “If you don’t fight Pereira, he’s waiting for something.