Du Plessis' coach rejects UFC light heavyweight tournament offer to chase middleweight title first

Dricus du Plessis will not be part of a proposed UFC light heavyweight tournament after his coach, Morne Visser, rejected the promotion’s offer. The Team CIT head coach confirmed the UFC approached them roughly three weeks ago about entering a four-man 205-pound pool alongside Jiri Prochazka, Magomed Ankalaev and Navajo Stirling.

Under the proposed format — described by Visser as “a bit of a Grand Prix” — the four fighters would compete in one night, with the two winners then meeting, and the overall winner earning a title shot against light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg, who is currently sidelined with an injury.

Visser was unequivocal about why he said no. “It’s very easy to go up to 205 pounds, but it took me a year to get Dricus from welterweight to middleweight,” he told Fight Forecast. “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 decision reflects a carefully managed long-term strategy for du Plessis, who lost the middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev before bouncing back with a unanimous decision victory over Kamaru Usman in July. The South African, nicknamed “Stillknocks”, also holds two wins over current 185-pound champion Sean Strickland, giving him a strong case for a title rematch at middleweight.

Visser acknowledged that a move to light heavyweight is firmly on the horizon, but stressed the physical transition requires proper preparation time — a lesson learned from du Plessis’ previous weight-class climb.

As for the other fighters named in the proposed tournament, Prochazka and Stirling are set to headline UFC Qatar on November 21, while Ankalaev currently has no announced bout.