Sean Strickland doubts that Alex Pereira will get back to 185 pounds.

After Dricus Du Plessis defended his middleweight title at UFC 305 by submission against Israel Adesanya, he received a warning from light heavyweight champion Pereira.

Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) said he would move up to middleweight again to face Du Plessis, but Strickland strongly advises him against that move.

“His big ass is not going back down to 185 pounds, dude,” Strickland told ESPN. “As a welterweight who moved up to 185 pounds, the thought of going back down sounds horrible once you get used to that weight class. I think Alex (Du Plessis) should fight at 205 pounds any day of the week. Any day of the week he sits at 205, 100 percent.”

Pereira’s most recent appearance at middleweight came at UFC 287, when he lost his middleweight title to Adesanya via KO. He has since moved up to the 205-pound class, where he dominated the division, winning the title and defending it twice.

Strickland recalls seeing Pereira in bad shape before his fight against Adesanya at UFC 287. Du Plessis himself would rather fight Pereira at light heavyweight than middleweight.

“I remember seeing Alex in the backroom at his last fight (at middleweight), and he looked like death,” Strickland said. “The last time he was at middleweight, I went up to greet him, and he just looked like death – to the point where I was like, ‘Man, this is not good for you, dude, get up.’ I think at 205 pounds he would do it in a heartbeat, but at 185 pounds, fortunately for us, I can’t imagine that happening.”

Pereira will defend his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) in the main event of UFC 307 on October 5 in Salt Lake City.

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.