Could Dricus du Plessis be moving to Light Heavyweight sooner than expected?
Maybe somebody should explain du Plessis’ timeline to the UFC in further detail, because per former Light Heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev, the promotion has put du Plessis’ name forward as a potential option for Ankalaev’s return to action in the next few months.
“Right now, we’re waiting,” Ankalaev said. “There’s some talk that Dricus du Plessis, he wants to move up and maybe they’ll make the fight with me. That’s the information we have for now, we don’t have any other info yet.”
If I may be allowed a bit of speculation: UFC might not be sure what to do with du Plessis at Middleweight right now. He’s right in the title mix, but Strickland is openly threatening to quit the sport rather than defend the title. Meanwhile, Nassourdine Imavov is stuck waiting for the next shot, but nobody wants to see du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev 2 at this stage. The Brendan Allen fight is probably the best option … but it’s not a hugely exciting matchup.
As we’re seeing with Diego Lopes and his random BMF title shot up at Lightweight, the promotion appears to be more willing than ever to ask its top-ranked contenders to jump divisions if there’s not a clear path forward. If it can make for a worthy main event, why not send du Plessis up and see what happens while the Middleweight title picture plays out?
The question is whether the South African is willing to play ball. He’s clearly a man motivated to retake his 185-pound throne, and a side quest up to 205 pounds could derail his current momentum.
