{"id":41183,"date":"2026-10-21T01:47:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T01:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherdog.com\/news\/news\/Dricus-du-Plessis-coach-says-he-rejected-UFC-205pound-tournament-offer-203279"},"modified":"2026-10-21T01:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T01:47:11","slug":"dricus-du-plessis-coach-says-he-rejected-ufc-205-pound-tournament-offer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/dricus-du-plessis-coach-says-he-rejected-ufc-205-pound-tournament-offer\/","title":{"rendered":"Dricus du Plessis’ coach says he rejected UFC 205-pound tournament offer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

The
\nUltimate Fighting Championship<\/a> proposed a four-man light
\nheavyweight tournament, according to Morne Visser.<\/p>\n

Dricus du
\nPlessis<\/a>\u2019 coach said the UFC approached the former middleweight
\nchampion about joining a field that included Jiri
\nProchazka<\/a>, Magomed
\nAnkalaev<\/a> and Navajo
\nStirling<\/a>. Under the proposed format, the tournament winner
\nwould earn a title shot against light heavyweight champion Carlos
\nUlberg<\/a>, who is sidelined with an injury.<\/p>\n

\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Morne Visser explains why he rejected UFC light heavyweight
\ntournament with Jiri Prochazka, Magomed Ankalaev and Navajo
\nStirling<\/h2>\n

Visser said he rejected the offer because they want to reclaim the
\n185-pound championship and defend it once before moving up. The
\nTeam
\nCIT<\/a> head coach said a move to light heavyweight remains the
\nplan, but they want ample time to prepare for the division\u2019s
\nphysical demands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey asked me three weeks ago; the UFC asked me for Dricus to move
\nup to 205, they wanted us to join a pool of four fighters, Jiri
\n[Prochazka], Dricus, [Magomed] Ankalaev and [Navajo] Stirling,\u201d
\nVisser told Fight Forecast. \u201cThey wanted the four guys to go into a
\npool and fight in one night and then the winner of that fight each
\nother and then the winner of that fight Carlos Ulberg, a bit of a
\nGrand Prix. But I said no because it\u2019s very easy to go up to 205
\npounds, but it took me a year to get Dricus from welterweight to
\nmiddleweight\u2026 That we will do it gradually because we will go up to
\n205, that is 100% the plan, but we want our middleweight belt back
\nand we want to defend it once.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStillknocks\u201d rebounded from his title loss to Khamzat
\nChimaev<\/a> by defeating Kamaru
\nUsman<\/a> by unanimous decision in July. The South African also
\nholds two victories over current middleweight champion Sean
\nStrickland<\/a>. Meanwhile, Prochazka and Stirling are scheduled to
\nheadline
\nUFC Qatar<\/a> on Nov. 21, while Ankalaev has no announced bout.<\/p>\n