UFC middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis doesn't care who he fights next

After defending his middleweight title against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, Dricus Du Plessis apparently doesn’t care who he fights next.

Both the No. 1 contender Sean Strickland and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira want a shot at him, but Du Plessis made sure to offend both men in a recent post on X .

The South African superstar was referencing the friendly relationship the two fighters formed after Pereira knocked out Strickland at UFC 276.

Strickland trained with Pereira ahead of taking the middleweight belt from Adesanya at UFC 293. Pereira then cornered Strickland when he lost his belt to Du Plessis via split decision at UFC 297.

But their relationship must not be as tight at it appears. Pereira knows that Strickland believes he deserves the next shot at Du Plessis — a belief backed by UFC president Dana White . And still, the hard-hitting Brazilian is attempting to swoop in and grab the middleweight belt before his buddy can.

“I want to go down one more time to the middleweight and go for the belt,” Pereira posted on Instagram . “Hey Dricus, bring your will to fight me so you can prove that you are better than me, with your public statement it is easy to make this happen …”

In response, Strickland told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto , “Alex’s big ass ain’t going back down to 185 … As a welterweight that moved up to 185, once you get used to that weight class, the thought of going back down sounds ... miserable.”

Strickland then suggested that Pereira and Du Plessis fight at light heavyweight. UFC commentator Joe Rogan has also supported Du Plessis moving up in weight to face Pereira .

But with Pereira set to defend his current belt at UFC 307, in October, against Khalil Rountree, a Strickland-Du Plessis fight seems to be the most likely scenario.

Whatever the UFC decides, though, the love triangle Du Plessis, Pereira and Strickland have formed around the middleweight belt could result in a series of fascinating matchups.