Gregory Rodrigues sees ‘technical mistakes’ he can exploit in Dricus Du Plessis

Gregory Rodrigues has identified Dricus Du Plessis as his preferred next opponent, spotting technical vulnerabilities in the former UFC middleweight champion's game that he believes he can exploit.

Following a recent victory over Anthony Hernandez that extended Rodrigues' winning streak to four consecutive fights, the Brazilian fighter called out Du Plessis as the logical next step in his career. With several other potential contenders occupied—Khamzat Chimaev's future uncertain, Brendan Allen and Joe Pyfer already booked—Rodrigues views the matchup with Du Plessis as the most sensible option at middleweight.

"That's the fight that makes the most sense," Rodrigues told Sherdog. "Dricus is very strong and tough and he beat the current champion, but he makes a lot of technical mistakes that I can capitalize on."

Du Plessis, who holds two victories over current middleweight champion Sean Strickland, recently defeated former welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman in a lopsided decision. Despite that win, Du Plessis appears to have dropped in the contender rankings, suggesting his stock may not be at its highest point currently. Rodrigues remains open to alternative matchups but is confident in his ability to defeat Du Plessis, having identified specific technical deficiencies in the South African's fighting approach that he feels he can capitalize on in the octagon.