Dricus du Plessis rejected UFC light-heavyweight tournament, says coach Morne Visser

Dricus du Plessis's coach Morne Visser says the former UFC middleweight champion turned down a four-man light-heavyweight tournament, with a middleweight return now targeted for late February or March.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Wed 21 Oct, 12:46 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Dricus du Plessis declined a UFC proposal to move up to 205lb and enter a four-man tournament to find a new light-heavyweight title challenger, according to his coach Morne Visser.

Visser said the UFC asked three weeks before he spoke for Du Plessis to join a pool with former light-heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka, Magomed Ankalaev and Navajo Stirling. The eventual winner would have earned a fight with Carlos Ulberg. Describing the format, Visser said: “They wanted the four guys to go into a pool and fight in one night and then the winner of that fight each other and then the winner of that fight Carlos Ulberg, a bit of a Grand Prix.” The coach said the timing of the jump, rather than the division itself, was the obstacle. Du Plessis, who has previously competed at welterweight, is expected to move up eventually, but Visser wants him to do it in stages. He said: “But I said no because it’s very easy to go up to 205 pounds, but it took me a year to get Dricus from welterweight to middleweight… That we will do it gradually because we will go up to 205, that is 100% the plan, but we want our middleweight belt back and we want to defend it once.” The UFC has not publicly commented on the proposal. Prochazka and Stirling have since been booked to headline UFC Fight Night 294 in Qatar on 21 November, which suggests the promotion may have moved away from the tournament format.

Visser said Du Plessis is aiming to return at middleweight in late February or March, after his honeymoon.

In this story

Magomed Ankalaev Navajo Stirling Carlos Ulberg