"I wanted a fight with Khamzat Chimaev because you have to forge iron while it's hot. There was a big hype and it would be good for all of us. I would have preferred a fight with Hamzat. I think he deserves it more, even though he doesn't have many fights, but if you look at Strickland's last fight against Costa, that kind of thing should never, ever guarantee a title shot to anyone. It was very boring. It was a dominant performance by Strickland, but a terrible fight to watch. And then Hamzat comes out and does what he did to Rob - a performance like that immediately puts you at the front of the queue."
As a reminder, Du Plessis' fight with Strickland will take place on Feb. 9 as part of the UFC 312 main event.
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UFC 312: full card of the tournament