UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis told ESPN that he would have preferred a fight against Khamzat Chimaev over his UFC 312 rematch with Sean Strickland in Sydney on February 9.
Du Plessis beat Strickland by split decision in January 2024 at UFC 297 in Toronto to clinch the middleweight title. Seven months later, he defended it against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth.
'Stillknocks' told ESPN: "I was rallying for the Khamzat [Chimaev] fight, just because it was [a case of trying to] strike while the iron is hot. The hype was there - it would have been good for all of us.
"They went with the Strickland [rematch], which didn't bother me at all. I would have preferred the Khamzat fight - I think he deserved it more even though he didn't have as many fights."
Whether or not Du Plessis' stated preference for a fight against Russia's Chimaev over Strickland is simply fighting talk is unclear. However, what is absolutely certain is that the South African is determined to put any debate about the rightful middleweight champion to bed.
He added: "If you look at Strickland's last fight against [Paulo] Costa, that doesn't warrant a title fight. That was super boring. I was sitting there watching that fight, thinking: 'What?' It was a dominant performance by Strickland, but a terrible fight to watch.
"Then, Khamzat comes in and he [beats] Rob [Whittaker] - the way he did it - that's what gets you to jump the line."
He continued: "I thought that [a Chimaev bout] was going to happen. I thought it would have been great for me; I would have loved that. It got me super excited.
"But putting the Strickland thing to bed - I have two decisions in my whole life, one being a split against Strickland [and the other a unanimous decision win over Brad Tavares at UFC 276].
"The guy who has evolved more over the last year since we last fought is the guy who is going to win this fight and I can't wait to show the evolution on February 9.
"It gets me excited because now, you can really compare the Dricus that fought him the first time and the Dricus that fought him the second time because styles make fights at the end of the day.
"You can't necessarily say: 'He beat this guy; he lost against this guy, so he's better now.' If you fight twice, that's where you're going to see the improvement."
Du Plessis said that he was unphased by how the victory over Strickland came about, as long as this time there would be no doubt in anyone's mind over who the winner was.
He said: "I don't mind a decision at all. If you look at my two decision wins... Yeah, they were decisions, but I don't mind a decision like that. They were two absolute wars.
"There was nobody sitting at the fight thinking: 'This is boring. When is it ending?' That doesn't happen in my fights. I don't mind going to a decision. I just want it to be a dominant decision. In my mind, that [UFC 297] fight was dominant. I remember a lot of people didn't see it that way. I want to leave absolutely no doubt.
"An early finish? If it comes, it comes. A late finish? Even better - breaking him down until he gives up. If it's a dominant decision, I don't mind that at all.
"Going out there and absolutely dominating - putting on a performance where it's undoubtable that I'm the best middleweight in the world; nobody can doubt that I'm the greatest middleweight in the world right now - that's what I'm after, that performance."