Dricus Du Plessis is determined to clear up any questions about his first fight with Sean Strickland in Saturday's UFC 312 title rematch.

After Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) took the middleweight title from Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) in a debated split decision at UFC 297 in January 2024, the pair will run it back in the main event at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+). Both men are highly confident they deserved the nod in the first meeting and plan to leave no doubt in the sequel.

While Strickland, 33, strives to regain the belt he felt "robbed" of 13 months ago, Du Plessis, 31, looks to close this chapter of the story. He doesn't see the controversy around the first result, despite UFC CEO Dana White claiming he scored it for Strickland.

"For me, the split decision was the biggest shock to me," Du Plessis told reporters at UFC 312 media day. "I didn't think it was a split decision. ... I am very happy that they made this fight. I was asking for this fight up until the Khamzat (Chimaev) win (over Robert Whittaker) happened, and then I would've preferred that fight, but I'm really happy this fight's happening because now I can go and say, 'What are you going to say?' I'm going to put this to bed. All the stupid fans who believe he won that fight, I can just go out and put this behind me.

"I didn't get lucky. I wasn't gifted a belt. I fought for five rounds forward. Twenty-three minutes forward in a 25-minute fight warrants a win. That's the guy who's trying to fight, not the guy who is trying to point."

Although there was a craving from fans for Du Plessis to make his next title defense against the unbeaten Chimaev, the champion is ultimately happy with the situation. He sees Strickland as a serious threat, and there is no shortage of motivation for him on multiple layers.

"I think Strickland is the best middleweight in the world right now, behind myself, and he deserves to be here," Du Plessis said. "I know he's an incredible, incredible fighter. He's so good defensively. He's tough. He's hard to hit and when you hit him it doesn't have that effect as on normal guys. This guy is an apex predator. This is the toughest fight of my life coming up, and I'm ready for that because I am an apex predator and he's in my area right now.

"We're going to go to that dark place from the get-go and we'll see who comes out. And I can't wait for that because even if this goes to a decision again, it will be an all-out war and it will be no doubt that I'm the best in the world."

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Chael Sonnen confident Khamzat Chimaev is UFC 312 title-fight backup

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 312.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dricus Du Plessis vows to prove he 'wasn't gifted a belt' in UFC 312 rematch vs. Sean Strickland