The Real Reason Behind the UFCs Scrapped Light Heavyweight Tournament

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UFC matchmakers reportedly approached former middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis with a proposal to join a light heavyweightMMA tournament. According to Dricus du Plessis’ head coach, Morne Visser, the promotion pitched the idea of a one-night tournament featuring four names, with the ultimate winner earning a shot at the UFC light heavyweight championship belt, currently held by New Zealand’s Carlos Ulberg.

Visser told Fight Forecast that the UFC reached out roughly three weeks ago with a concrete proposal. 

The UFC Grand Prix That Never Was

The plan was to assemble Du Plessis, Jiri Prochazka, Magomed Ankalaev, and undefeated contender Navajo Stirling into a four-man pool. Those fighters would compete on a single night, with the surviving winners then squaring off to determine the next challenger for Ulberg.

Carlos Ulberg after winning the UFC light heavyweight championship.Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC-GettyImages

The concept was a callback to the MMA glory days of PRIDE and Strikeforce, a high-stakes tournament designed to shake up the usual schedule of bouts between ranked contenders. It also reflected the UFC’s ongoing search for clarity at 205 pounds, where Ulberg captured the vacant title at UFC 327 in April with a first-round knockout of Prochazka. 

With the champion sidelined by a knee injury, the promotion appeared eager to manufacture a definitive number one contender.

Du Plessis Focused On Middleweight

For Du Plessis, however, the pitch did not align with his immediate priorities. The South African had just dominated Kamaru Usman in the UFC Oklahoma City main event in July, reasserting himself as a top contender at 185 pounds. A jump to a heavier weight class, against three elite light heavyweights, was a risk with no immediate payoff for his ambitions to recapture the middleweight belt.

Dricus Du Plessis after a victory.Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

His coach, Visser, explained that while adding weight is simple, building the athletic capabilities needed to compete against natural light heavyweights is a gradual process. The coach noted it took a full year to transition du Plessis from welterweight to middleweight properly, and a similar timeline would be necessary for a 205-pound move.

“I said no because it’s very easy to go up to 205, but it took me a year to get Dricus from Welterweight to Middleweight,” Visser told Fight Forecast. “To put on the weight means absolutely nothing. Anyone can put on weight. Just eat. We need to get the power up.”

Du Plessis is not abandoning the light heavyweight dream entirely, however, as Visser confirmed that a move up is “100 percent the plan” eventually. He will likely return to competition in early 2027, with Visser pointing to late February or March as a likely window.

The immediate mission is to reclaim the middleweight belt and defend it once before entertaining any divisional changes.

“We want our belt back and to defend it once,” Visser said. “I made that clear to UFC.”

The Light Heavyweight Landscape

With Du Plessis out of the picture, the UFC’s tournament concept appears dead on arrival, at least in its original form. 

The promotion has already booked two of the proposed participants against each other, as Prochazka is scheduled to face Stirling in a five-round main event in Qatar on November 21.

That fight now carries even greater significance, serving as a title eliminator while Ankalaev waits in the wings following his July victory over Bogdan Guskov.

The rejected tournament will linger as a fascinating what-if, a rare case of the UFC attempting a high-concept matchmaking gamble in the modern era.

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This story was originally published by Athlon on Oct 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the MMA section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.