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Alex Pereira believes Dricus Du Plessis will be the next contender for Israel Adesanya's middleweight title.
In his most recent contest, "The Last Stylebender" defeated Pereira in the night's main event of UFC 287 to reclaim the middleweight title. That victory avenged the dramatic fifth-round TKO at UFC 281 in which "Poatan" captured the title and became only the second man in MMA history to defeat Adesanya.
There has been much talk over who would be the first challenger for Adesanya's second title reign because Pereira, who was Adesanya's opponent in the first fight, appears to be going up to light heavyweight. Adesanya's victory over Pereira would have been his sixth successful middleweight title defense.
The 33-year-old already has victories over some of the best competitors in the division, but who will next challenge for his title depends very likely on the outcome of the forthcoming battle between Du Plessis and Whittaker.
“Let’s speak about if Du Plessis wins,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “I think it will be a massacre. Adesanya knows this. He wants to make history. He wants to have an easy fight.”
“For me it’s Du Plessis, he is way easier than Whittaker. He wants to make history and collect wins and he knows it’s a good fight for him.”
Du Plessis joined the UFC in 2020 and is now listed as the #6 middleweight contender in the league. Prior to his fight with Whittaker at UFC 290, "Stillknocks" has publicly expressed his desire to battle Adesanya. The 29-year-old most recently defeated Derek Brunson at UFC 285.
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