"Same category as underestimating" - Dricus du Plessis refuses to make a common rematch mistake even if the "unknown" factor is "out of the window"

Dricus du Plessis is determined not to fall into the trap of assumptions as he prepares to defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 312. Their rematch, set for later this year, follows a razor-thin decision at UFC 297, where du Plessis edged out Strickland in a grueling five-round war.

Since their first encounter, both fighters have solidified their status. Du Plessis defended his title in dominant fashion against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, while Strickland bounced back with a commanding victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 302. Now, Strickland seeks redemption and aims to become a two-time middleweight champion.

In an interview with ESPN MMA, du Plessis stressed the importance of approaching the rematch with fresh eyes:

"Biggest thing for me when I go into a fight and I think that's like that for most fighters, is the unknown. You don't know how hard this guy is, how fast he is know how hard this guy is, how fast he is, and what makes him special, and you don't want to go out there you know, take a punch and you're done for. It's always a feeling out process and that can take sometime especially when you're fighting a five-rounder."

The South African champion acknowledged the challenges he faced in their initial clash, particularly the uncertainty of enduring five rounds at such a high pace. However, with that experience under his belt, du Plessis believes he will be even sharper this time around:

"In the first fight there's a feeling out process and figuring out how hard does this guy hit. How good is he, what does he do good, where is his mistakes. That goes out of the window a little bit for this fight because we know there's not going to be too much of change in how hard I hit and how hard he hits. But you can't go and say this is what happened and this is how he fought the first fight. Let's do that again, because that's in the same category as underestimating."

Check out Dricus du Plessis' comment below (1:51):

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Dricus du Plessis opens up on his ultimate goal in the sport

In the UFC, the pursuit of multiple titles has become increasingly common. Conor McGregor paved the way, with fighters like Daniel Cormier and Alex Pereira following suit. However, for Dricus du Plessis, a second championship is only part of a much larger goal.

Appearing in the aforementioned interview, the 31-year-old also explained what drives him:

“I believe you have an ultimate goal, that is your driving factor. Because if you set your goal is to get into the UFC or be a UFC champion, and you reach that, what is next? The goal to be champion is one but there is many more to come. I also want to go up and get another belt and ultimately be seen as the greatest fighter to ever walk this earth.” [0:21 onwards in the aforementioned video]