RELATED: DRICUS DU PLESSIS REACTS TO ALEX PEREIRA CORNERING SEAN STRICKLAND AT UFC 312: 'THEY DON'T EVEN SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE'

In an interview with ESPN Africa, Dricus du Plessis was asked about the uncertainty over his next title defense before the Sean Strickland rematch was made official. "Stillknocks" admitted that another fight with Strickland wasn't what he initially hoped for.

"I was rallying for the Khamzat fight just because it was strike while the iron's hot," du Plessis said. "The hype was there. It would've been good for all of us."

Du Plessis went on to mention Chimaev's impressive submission win over Robert Whitttaker, as opposed to Strickland's split decision against Paulo Costa.

"I would've preferred the Khamzat fight," du Plessis said. "I think he deserved it more even though he didn't have as many fights, but if you look at Strickland's last fight against Costa, that doesn't warrant anybody, ever, a title fight. That was super boring. I mean, watching that fight I was sitting there thinking, 'What?' I mean, dominant performance by Strickland, but a terrible fight to watch. Then, Khamzat comes in and does to Rob, the way he did it, I mean, that's what gets you to jump the line."

With that said, du Plessis is happy to get a chance to put the Strickland chapter behind him. We'll see if the champion gets his way when he faces Strickland inside the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.