Magomed Ankalaev has a name in mind, and it belongs to a man who isn’t in his division yet. Speaking with BOSTANOV MMA, the former UFC light heavyweight champion said there have been discussions about a fight with Dricus du Plessis at 205 pounds, and that he wants it.
“There’s some talk about Dricus du Plessis. He wants to move up, and it’s possible they’ll arrange a fight between us. That’s the information we have for now,” Ankalaev said in the interview, as relayed by Championship Rounds on X. “It’s a good fight for me, and I’m interested in it myself.”
MMA Sucka framed the story around Ankalaev naming an opponent for a heavyweight move. The interview material circulating so far is about a light heavyweight booking, though. The weight class in play right now is 205.
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Where both men stand
The logic is simple. Ankalaev lost his belt to Alex Pereira, then got back in the win column against Bogdan Guskov, and that still wasn’t enough to earn an immediate rematch, according to Bloody Elbow. He’d originally told the UFC he wanted to return in October. That plainly didn’t happen.
He also hasn’t let go of the Pereira loss. In the same interview he called the finish a lucky punch and suggested Pereira’s camp knew about an injury. “I don’t think any fighter had ever rushed at me like that before,” he said. “If he hadn’t known I was injured, I don’t think it would have ended so quickly.”
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Du Plessis is in a similar holding pattern one division down. He lost the middleweight title last year, then beat Kamaru Usman in July to get back in the conversation. Bloody Elbow noted that the 185-pound picture has stalled because of Sean Strickland’s issues with the UFC, which leaves a former champ with a big win and no obvious next step.
The timing reports don’t line up. The account @DovySimuMMA posted on X that Ankalaev said the UFC is working on the fight for a December event. Bloody Elbow’s read of the same interview was that Ankalaev looks unlikely to fight again this year. Neither the UFC nor du Plessis has confirmed any booking.
Du Plessis, for his part, isn’t packing for 205 just yet. He told The Sias du Plessis Show that the move up is coming eventually, but only after he settles things at middleweight. “I want to get my belt back and eventually go up to 205 and go test myself there,” he said. “And I’m certain that I’ll be a champion. I’m big enough for that division, and I’m certain I can be champion at that division as well.”
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Quick take
This reads like Ankalaev taking the one big fight that’s been mentioned to him and holding on tight, which I understand. A former champ who did his job against Guskov and still got skipped has every reason to make noise. But du Plessis laid out his own order of operations on The Sias du Plessis Show, belt first and light heavyweight later, and that’s a much firmer plan than the loose discussions Ankalaev described. If the UFC can’t get a middleweight title fight sorted, December could still happen. Until du Plessis says otherwise, I’d bet on him chasing the 185 belt and Ankalaev waiting for a phone call that doesn’t come before 2027.
