Why Dricus du Plessis isn't pushing for a legacy fight with Alex Pereira just yet

Dricus du Plessis recently weighed in on his rationale for not rushing into a high-stakes showdown with Alex Pereira just yet. The reigning UFC middleweight champion was initially rumored to face Sean Strickland in a rematch for his second title defense.

However, after Khamzat Chimaev's submission victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 last month, du Plessis has expressed his desire to defend his title against 'Borz'. The South African has frequently voiced his ambition to move up a division in pursuit of double-champ status, viewing Chimaev as the ideal stepping stone to achieve this goal.

During a recent interview with Submission Radio, 'Stillknocks' opened up about his future goals, emphasizing his desire to eventually challenge the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion. However, du Plessis stated that he's in no hurry and intends to make two more title defenses to cement his mark before moving up a weight class:

"It's a fight I want. I always say, for me, this is all about legacy. When it's all said and done, I want to be known as one of the greatest to ever walk this earth, and for me to do that, I only want to fight the best guys in the world. So, yeah, beating Khamzat definitely gets me in that conversation."

He added:

"Like I said, I'm never in a rush, but a good point you're making is I would love that fight before the man [Pereira] decides to retire because, if he does decide to retire today, it would be totally warranted."

Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below (22:58):

In his first title defense, du Plessis secured a submission victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in August, following his initial title win against Strickland at UFC 297 in January.

'Stillknocks' is well-acquainted with champ-champ status; during his time in KSW, du Plessis held both the welterweight and middleweight titles.

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Dricus du Plessis says he has what it takes to knock out Alex Pereira

During the same interview with Submission Radio, Dricus du Plessis acknowledged Alex Pereira's impressive skills and swift rise in the octagon yet asserted that he has the ability to knock out 'Poatan' if they ever face-off:

"If i’m talking about just the standup exchanges—I’m not fighting a kickboxing fight; I’m fighting an MMA fight. And in a kickboxing fight, you need to be able to land combos, you need to land massive punches the whole time, get a guy rocked, you get an eight count, and you have all those variables. Where in MMA, I don’t care who you are. If I catch you clean with those small gloves, you’re going to go down and I am going to catch you eventually." [25:32]