Dricus du Plessis open to UFC fight against Islam Makhachev

Dricus du Plessis is not ruling out a fight against Islam Makhachev, but the UFC middleweight champion doubts how competitive it would be.

In the aftermath of UFC 311, where Makhachev beat last-minute challenger Renato Moicano in the first round of their title fight, the Russian suggested he may look to move up weight classes and challenge for other belts.

Given his friendship with welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, Makhachev said he would be willing to jump two divisions and take on du Plessis instead.

But the South African is having a hard time taking Makhachev’s suggestion seriously.

“It’s hard to really think and take it seriously right now,” he said.

“He’s an incredible fighter, make no mistake.

“But I don’t care how good you are — I’d just overpower him, that’s what I think.”

Du Plessis went on to say that his focus is on his next fight, where he takes on Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 312.

The clash is a rematch of their January 2024 bout in which du Plessis defied UFC betting odds to win by split decision and claim the middleweight title for the first time.

A year later and du Plessis is a -200 favourite across top online bookmakers to defend his belt against Strickland, who is at +170.

After UFC 312, du Plessis says he is open to a fight against Makhachev, though he believes their weight difference gives him a significant advantage.

“If we get to a situation where we are not at right now [I’d be open to it],” he said.

“He was so incredibly good against Moicano. He proved once again why he is the pound-for-pound best in the world.

“His wrestling and grappling is phenomenal.

“He obviously trains with 185ers in his gym, so he knows.

“He doesn’t train against me.

“Believe me, it’s not the same thing. Even on a technical level, the standup.”

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