Reigning light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has set a single condition for a potential superfight with Dricus du Plessis following the latter’s provocative callout at UFC 312.
Du Plessis, fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Sean Strickland—scoring 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46—delivered the challenge during his post-fight interview:
“Since [Pereira] is standing directly across the octagon: ‘Is there no-one else? Is there no one else?’”
Check out Dricus du Plessis’ callout below:
"IS THERE NO ONE ELSE?" 🗣
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) February 9, 2025
Dricus Du Plessis calls out POATAN! #UFC312 | LIVE on TNT Sports & discovery+ pic.twitter.com/NBimKn0Dch
Backstage, an unexpected twist emerged when Alex Pereira remained unaware that the taunt was directed at him. His coach and translator, Plinio Cruz, later clarified that Pereira initially did not comprehend the call due to a language barrier.
Once the misunderstanding was resolved, Alex Pereira acknowledged hearing the challenge and promptly set his condition: the superfight must be contested at 205 pounds.
Cruz said:
“So luckily we were walking down, Dricus had the belt, and Alex came to him and said ‘I heard you called me out.’ He goes ‘Yes,’ Alex says ‘Make it happen at 205.’ Dricus looked, thought a little bit, and said ‘Deal.’ So let’s see now if he runs back with his word, if he keep it up. Let’s see that superfight happen.”
Alex Pereira just called out Dricus Du Plessis for a super fight at 205. He said he ran into him backstage and took issue to his “Is there no one else comments” and said “I’m here” and wants to make the fight happen. #UFC312 pic.twitter.com/BV9oBRj4Ws
— FULL SEND MMA (@full_send_mma) February 9, 2025
While the potential matchup has stirred excitement, Pereira’s immediate focus is his upcoming bout against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 on Mar 8.
The proposed superfight now hinges on UFC approval, which remains uncertain amid other title contenders. Rising prospects such as Khamzat Chimaev are also in the conversation for middleweight title opportunities, complicating the scheduling.