The
Ultimate Fighting Championship proposed a four-man light heavyweight tournament according to Morne Visser.
In Dricus du PlessisThe former middleweight champion was approached by the UFC to join a field that includes himself, the trainer said Jiri approaches, Magomed Anchor Ship and Navajo Stirling. Under the proposed format, the winner of the tournament would earn a title shot against the light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulbergwho has been sidelined with an injury.
Morne Visser Explains Why He Turned Down UFC Light Heavyweight Tournament With Jiri Prochazka, Magomed Ankalaev & Navajo Stirling
Visser said he turned down the offer because they want to reclaim the 185-pound championship and defend it once before moving up. The
Team CIT The head coach said the move to light heavyweight remains the plan, but they want enough time to prepare for the physical demands of the division.
“They asked me three weeks ago; the UFC asked Dricus to move up to 205, they wanted us to join four fighters: Jiri (Prochazka), Dricus, (Magomed) Ankalaev and (Navajo) Stirling,” Visser told Fight Forecast. “They wanted four guys to go into the pool and fight in one night and then the winner of this fight and then the winner of that fight Carlos Ulberg, a little bit of a Grand Prix. But I said no because 205 pounds is very easy to go up, but it took me a year to get Dricus from welterweight to middleweight… That we’re going to do it gradually because we’re going to do it gradually for 20, but we’re going to do 5% we want our middleweight belt back and we want it once protect.
The Stillknocks bounced back from their title loss Khamzat Chimaev with defeat Kamaru Usman in July with a unanimous decision. The South African also has two wins over the current middleweight champion Sean Strickland. Meanwhile, Prochazka and Stirling are scheduled
UFC Qatar On November 21, while Ankalayev has not announced.
