“Is there no one else?” Dricus Du Plessis thundered after he outworked Sean Strickland at their UFC 312 rematch today. And Alex Pereira apparently took that personally. To the point, the light heavyweight champ walked up to ‘DDP’, the 185-pound champ backstage after the event, and challenged him to a fight. And at least according to ‘Poatan’, the South African agreed. There’s one condition, though. What was it?

“Well, Alex was outside the cage over there. Dricus came, looked at him, and says ‘Is there no one else?’ Of course, Alex don’t speak English. He came to me and asked what happened? I told him he’s basically challenging him. So luckily walking down, Dricus had the belt and then Alex came in to say ‘Oh I heard you calling me out’. He goes ‘Yes.’ And then Alex says ‘Make it happen at 205.’ Dricus looks, thinks a little bit then says ‘Deal’. So let’s see if he runs back now his words, if he keeps it up. But Alex Pereira is winning next week, let’s see that super-fight happen,” coach Plinio Cruz told Full Send MMA, translating Pereira’s Portuguese.

So basically, Alex Pereira ditched his earlier plans of dropping down to middleweight again. Instead, he challenged Du Plessis a light heavyweight bout. But the thing is, there is someone else for Du Plessis to fight. UFC CEO Dana White has already strongly indicated that Khamzat Chimaev is next for a middleweight title shot, so Du Plessis moving up will ruin those plans. Which the UFC may not be in favor of. After all, ‘Borz’ is the most hyped fighter in the history of the sport. And it makes perfect sense, especially financially, for the UFC to see him become champ.

In addition, Pereira himself is set to face Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 next month, which is not an easy fight for the light heavyweight champ at all. In fact, many think the Dagestabi may be the guy who finally beats Pereira at light heavyweight. Why? Well, for very good reasons.

Magomed Ankalaev and Khamzat Chimaev biggest obstacles in Alex Pereira-Dricus Du Plessis clash

The main reason people fancy Magomed Ankalaev’s chances against Alex Pereira is because the latter has a serviceable grappling game. ‘Poatan’, on the other hand, is a pure striker. The only tough fight the Brazilian champ has had at 205 was his UFC 291 clash against Jan Blachowicz, who took him down early and often.

This is why many feel that the Dagestani would be able to take down Pereira and either maul him there or at least notch up enough control time to eke through a decision win. But as we have mentioned, even if Pereira wins at UFC 313, Du Plessis is unlikely to be next for him.

Even though there aren’t really any contenders for ‘Poatan’ to fight in the division at the moment after he beats Ankalaev. If anyone else other than Chimaev was next in line for a middleweight shot, there’s a good chance Pereria-Du Plessis for the light heavyweight title could have been next. But this is Khamzat Chimaev, the UFC’s next potential golden goose. What do you think about the prospects of a Pereira-Du Plessis clash for the 205-pound title?