Dricus du Plessis is willing to defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland in a rematch of their January title fight, but believes another former foe is more deserving.
Du Plessis stopped Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of Saturday’s UFC 305 main event in Perth. UFC CEO Dana White said prior to the bout that Strickland would be next for the winner. At the post-fight press conference, du Plessis was asked about the man he already defeated for the title and if he thinks trash talk with Strickland will get personal once again.
“I don’t know,” du Plessis said. “Does he want to cry again?”
Fortunately for du Plessis, middleweight is loaded with stars and talent currently. In an upcoming massive fight at UFC 308 in October, Robert Whittaker faces Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round rebooked co-main event. It will be Whittaker’s third fight of 2024 after beating Paulo Costa at UFC 298 via unanimous decision in February, and then stopping Ikram Aliskerov in the first round at UFC Saudi Arabia in June.
Du Plessis gave his thoughts on which fighter in the 185-pound division deserves the next crack at his 185-pound title the most, and he sided with the man he stopped at UFC 290 in July 2023 to earn his championship opportunity.
“Robert Whittaker,” du Plessis said. “Robert Whittaker deserves the shot. I think he’s being done over. Whittaker beat Costa.
“Sean Strickland’s only saving grace is the fact he went to decision with me. That’s it. Robert Whittaker beat Costa in a more spectacular fashion, I believe, than Strickland did. Then Whittaker steps up to fight Khamzat, [Chimaev] pulls out, Whittaker fights a nobody in the sense of [Aliskerov] is not in the rankings, he can only lose, and it’s a great fighter. Ikram is an amazing fighter, he’s really good. Whittaker makes it look like he’s fighting an amateur.
“And what does he get for it? Nothing. Then says, ‘OK, I’ll fight Khamzat again.’ So if he beats Khamzat, do you not give him the title shot? He’s getting the short end of the stick, unfortunately. That’s not on me. I’ll fight whoever. Strickland’s the fight everyone wants to see, but Whittaker is the one being done over, in my opinion. He’s more deserving, but life’s not fair.”
Long considered one of the top light heavyweights in the world, Ankalaev made it clear that he did not appreciate Pereira teasing the idea of dropping back down to 185 pounds to challenge UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis after UFC 305. Early Sunday morning, Ankalaev erupted on the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion on social media, dubbing Pereira the “biggest chicken in the UFC” and promising to knock out the Brazilian in two rounds or less whenever the two finally do meet in the octagon.
@AlexPereiraUFC biggest chicken in the Ufc he call out guys middleweight he 40 pound more than them I am the only guy he doesn’t even mention my name I promise I’m gonna handle my business in October and I’m gonna knock you out under 2 round
— Magomed Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM) August 18, 2024
@AlexPereiraUFC biggest chicken in the Ufc he call out guys middleweight he 40 pound more than them I am the only guy he doesn’t even mention my name I promise I’m gonna handle my business in October and I’m gonna knock you out under 2 round
Ankalaev is currently tied with former champ Jiri Prochazka for the No. 2 spot on MMA Fighting’s global light heavyweight rankings. The 32-year-old Dagestan native is unbeaten over his past 12 UFC bouts and many within the sport assumed he would be awarded the next title shot against Pereira. However, that did not turn out to be the case.
Ankalaev is instead set to face Aleksandar Rakic on October 26 at UFC 308, just three weeks after Pereira makes the third defense of his title against MMA Fighting’s No. 9 ranked light heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr. on October 5 in the main event of UFC 307.
It remains to be seen whether Pereira is serious about his pledge to come down to 185 pounds “one more time,” but if he is, the middleweight champ thinks it’ll be a bad idea.
“I honestly don’t think Alex Pereira should drop down to 185,” du Plessis said at UFC 305’s post-fight press conference. “If he wants to, great, perfect. But then we’re going to hear the excuses. I saw [Israel Adesanya] stiff that man in the first round. I felt Izzy’s punching power tonight. Izzy has great timing, he’s fast, he’s long and he has great combinations, but I felt the power.
“If Izzy stiffens you like that, you do not want to be in there with me, especially not when you’ve got to come in there with the excuses, ‘Oh, I cut too much weight.’ That’s going to happen. Everybody’s going to say it.”
A one-time UFC interim title challenger, Kara-France reestablished his standing in the flyweight division in thunderous fashion on Saturday, knocking out Steve Erceg with first-round barrage in UFC 305’s co-main event. The win marked Kara-France’s return from a 14-month layoff and sent a message to the rest of the 125-pound division after Erceg mounted a mighty challenge to Alexandre Pantoja’s UFC flyweight belt just three months ago.
“If you break down this fight, I just beat the guy that everyone thought should’ve been the champion. I just beat him in the first round,” Kara-France said Saturday night. “It’s taking time away from the sport, coming back and making a statement with my actions. I’ve heard the UFC want to bring in this guy from Japan called Kai [Asakura], but I’m the real Kai.
“This is my home. You can’t just come in and think you can bang with the big dogs because you think you’re good. It just doesn’t work like that. You’ve got to earn it, and I’ve been in this company for a while now, I’ve fought everyone in this flyweight division, and I’ve [said] it time and time again, I’m going to let my actions be my loudest voice and I’m making noise now. So Alexandre Pantoja, I know he doesn’t have a fight booked — I might’ve just leap-frogged my way back into a title shot, so that’s how I see it happening.”
The other Kai referenced by Kara-France is Kai Asakura, a former RIZIN bantamweight champion who inked a deal with UFC in June. Since his signing, Asakura has been rumored to be the next challenger to Pantoja’s flyweight title, but Kara-France has other ideas.
Though the 31-year-old New Zealander entered UFC 305 on a two-fight losing streak to Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi, the Albazi loss was a highly controversial decision and the Moreno loss came in Kara-France’s shot at the interim belt. Prior to that, Kara-France racked up an impressive three-fight UFC win streak over Rogerio Bontorin, Cody Garbrandt, and Askar Askarov.
Kara-France is currently the highest ranked UFC flyweight contender to have not already lost to Pantoja in a professional bout — Pantoja did beat Kara-France in a two-round exhibition on The Ultimate Fighter 24 in 2016 — so Kara-France feels he is well within his rights to tell the UFC newcomer Asakura to wait his turn in lines.
“If they want me to fight for the title, I would happily wait until December,” Kara-France said.
“Me and Pantoja have a history. We’ve shared the octagon, season 24 on The Ultimate Fighter. It was only a two-round fight, so we couldn’t really showcase all our skills cutting weight week in, week out on that show. But I know him, he’s done really well in the UFC, and being the champion now, nothing but props. And he’s a dog and I love his fight style, but I feel like I can be the one to take him out. He hasn’t fought me in the UFC properly yet, so if he wants, let’s do it. If the UFC want to make it, let’s do it in December.”
With UFC 305 in the books, all eyes in the MMA world now turn to UFC 306, which goes down September 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. Taking place the weekend before Mexican Independence Day, the event has been branded Riyadh Season presents Noche UFC, and in the new trailer that was released on Saturday, UFC CEO Dana White promises the card will be “the greatest live sporting event of all-time.”
Headlined by a bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, the card also has a women’s flyweight championship trilogy bout between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event. All four championship fighters are featured prominently in the new promo, while voice over from White promises fans will “never see anything like this again in your life.” The trailer also highlights the featherweight bout between Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega, which serves as the featured bout of the evening.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Fanatics
Mike Tyson remains committed to his Nov. 15 dance date against Jake Paul.
The boxing Hall of Famer and former heavyweight champion appeared alongside Paul on Sunday in New York City for the first press conference ahead of their rescheduled bout. The duo were originally scheduled to compete on July 20, however Tyson withdrew from the big-money match in May after suffering health complications related to an ulcer flare-up.
That withdrawal only inflamed critics who argue that Tyson’s health and age make the fight is an irresponsible and dangerous booking, but Tyson remains steadfast in his pledge.
“[I’m doing this] because I can. Who else can do it but me?” Tyson said at Sunday’s press conference “Let’s look at it, who else is he going to fight to make this happen? You just have to listen to the facts. We got a YouTuber fighting the greatest fighter that ever lived.”
“Every time,” Paul shot back. “Every time, these fighters sit across from me and it’s YouTubers, Disney Channel, all that shit, and then you end up on the f*cking canvas. And you’ll see, it’s going to be no different here. I promise you that.
“I brought this deal to this old ass motherf*cker. We signed the contract with Netflix and I brought him the deal. So you’re welcome, my son. I’m going to discipline you like a son. So shut the f*ck up with all that ‘need this, need that.’ We brought you the deal. And remember that too.”
Tyson, 58, and Paul, 27, are scheduled to meet in a professional heavyweight bout contested across eight two-minute rounds at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., which airs live on Netflix.
Tyson has not competed professionally since losing a 2005 match against Kevin McBride. His most recent appearance in the ring came in an eight-round exhibition against fellow Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr. in late 2020, which ended in a split draw.
Paul is 10-1 as a professional boxer since debuting in 2020 and has defeated a host of MMA veterans, counting wins over Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley (x2), Anderson Silva, and Nate Diaz. He knocked out BKFC star Mike Perry in his most recent bout this past July.
As he has done most of the boxing career, Paul continues to shrug off critics of his matchmaking preferences, this time regarding his booking against Tyson.
“People are always going to have something to say,” Paul said. “It’s because of who I am, it’s because I proved everyone wrong. Reminder, the most hated and most criticized boxer in the sport of boxing, before they loved him, was Muhammad Ali. So I’m the antihero and people will love me soon enough, once they realize what I’ve done for this sport and who I truly am. But that doesn’t bother me at the end of the day, because when you’re at the top, people are clawing to rip you down, and that’s just the way the game goes.
“You’ve got to risk it for the biscuit. That’s the name of the game. I’m here to make history. I’m here for a challenge. I’m here to fight one of the most dangerous men in all of boxing. No one that ever did anything great got there with ease or by an easy, non-bumpy road. I’m here to challenge myself. He’s vicious, he’s a killer. I know all of these things. He has one-punch knockout power. He’s the greatest heavyweight of all-time. But I will prove on November 15 all the haters wrong, all of these ‘YouTuber, YouTuber,’ f*cking hillbillies wrong. And that’s what I’ve always done.”
While Paul dipped into full promotional mode often during Sunday’s press conference, Tyson kept the majority of his responses short and sweet. Nonetheless, the boxing legend made sure to repeatedly remind his young foe that his intentions are serious.
“Very painfully,” Tyson promised when asked how the bout will go.
“Be in shape. Be in good shape because your health depends on it.”
“I think he’s a mitt warrior,” Paul said. “The Instagram videos are cute but we’ll see what happens in the ring on November 15. At the end of the day, we’ll see if he’s still got it.”
“Listen, as soon as I catch this guy, he’s going to be running around. As soon as I catch this guy, it’s going to be totally over,” Tyson later said. “… He’s going to run like a thief.”
NEW YORK CITY — Boxing legend Mike Tyson, 58, and YouTuber turned pugilist Jake Paul, 27, exchanged some friendly shoves Sunday in their faceoff following the Tyson vs. Paul press conference during Fanatics Fest at theJacob K. Javits Convention Center.
Mike Tyson and Jake Paul are going to try it again.
The boxing legend and rising boxing star are set to answer questions from the media during the Fanatics Fest at theJacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City on Sunday afternoon. The press conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
Tyson and Paul are slated to fight again at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 15 in Arlington, Texas. The duo were originally scheduled to compete on July 20, but Tyson had to postpone the bout due to health issues.
Watch the Tyson vs. Paul press conference live above.
Dricus du Plessis has a friendly warning for Alex Pereira if he’s seriously considering a return to his old stomping grounds at middleweight.
Just moments after du Plessis tapped out Israel Adesanya with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round of the UFC 305 main event, Pereira took to social media to share a photo of himself in front of the post-fight celebration. The caption on Pereira’s post? “Coming down to 185 one more time,” joined by a famously stoic look on the light heavyweight champ’s face. Of course, Pereira is a former UFC middleweight champion who ultimately decided to move up to 205 pounds after falling to Adesanya in their rematch in 2023.
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A post shared by Alex “Poatan” Pereira (@alexpoatanpereira)
Since that time, Pereira has gone undefeated, including wins in three title fights with his fourth coming up at UFC 307 when he faces Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event.
If the Brazilian is seriously considering a return to middleweight, du Plessis welcomes the challenge, although he’s quite certain that Pereira wouldn’t like the result.
“I honestly don’t think Alex Pereira should drop down to 185,” du Plessis said at the UFC 305 post-fight press conference. “If he wants to, great, perfect. But then we’re going to hear the excuses. I saw Izzy stiff that man in the first round. I felt Izzy’s punching power tonight. Izzy has great timing, he’s fast, he’s long and he has great combinations, but I felt the power.
“If Izzy stiffens you like that, you do not want to be in there with me, especially not when you’ve got to come in there with the excuses, ‘Oh, I cut too much weight.’ That’s going to happen. Everybody’s going to say it.”
Rather than facing a potentially depleted “Poatan” thanks to a rough weight cut, du Plessis prefers taking care of his next title defense and then packing on a few more pounds to challenge for the light heavyweight title instead.
“Stay at 205, fight your fight against the No. 8 ranked guy,” du Plessis said referencing Pereira’s fight against Rountree. “Fight your fight there and enjoy it. If Strickland is the next fight, the people want to see that fight — if that’s the fight that people want to see and that’s the fight right now people think is the next best guy, then it’s the fight that I want. So let me handle my business, you handle your business.
“You don’t have to cut the weight so you have some sort of excuse. I’ll come up after the Strickland fight. I’ll come up to 205 and we’ll sort it out there.”
To be clear, du Plessis isn’t seeking out a light heavyweight title shot and he’s not trying to become the latest fighter hoping to add “champ-champ’ to his résumé.
In fact, the South African fighter prefers vanquishing every possible contender in his current weight class rather than just jumping up to 205 pounds for a fight that doesn’t really make much sense to him right now.
That said, du Plessis has no problem taking on that challenge if that’s what UFC throws at him.
“If that’s what the UFC wants, I’ll be ready for it right now,” du Plessis said. “But I’m not chasing that. I believe to be considered the greatest to ever do this sport, I need to be considered as the greatest middleweight first.
“I’m the first guy to beat Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. I’ve beaten three of the top 20 pound-for-pound fighters, so can I please get back in the top 10? I beat Strickland, I beat Whittaker, and I beat Adesanya. I haven’t been on social media. I can’t wait to see what the critics say now.”
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