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Based in Rochester, England, Simon Head is a veteran sports editor who has been covering sport for national and international outlets since 2000, and is one of the longest-tenured MMA journalists in the UK. Since 2009, Simon has covered MMA for a host of major outlets across the world, including BBC Sport, BBC Three, MMA Junkie/USA Today, BT Sport, Daily Mirror, The Sun and The National UAE, as well as providing official content to several of the world's top MMA organizations, including UFC, ONE Championship, Cage Warriors and the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF). Simon has also run the digital sports desks of two UK national newspapers, helped launch a major UK sports broadcaster, and coordinated coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games, FIFA World Cups, UEFA European Championships, FA Cup Finals, Formula 1 and MotoGP.
Contributing Sports Writer
For UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, his UFC 312 rematch with Sean Strickland is an opportunity to leave no doubt over who the best middleweight in the world really is.
Du Plessis dethroned Strickland at UFC 297 after their bout went to a split-decision in Toronto, Canada. Strickland and his team have insisted that the American had done enough to win that fight, while Du Plessis and his supporters have maintained the verdict fell on the correct side of the coin.
More news: Dricus Du Plessis' Deeper 'Playlist' Offers Keys To Victory – Analyst
Now the pair will run it back in Sydney, Australia, with Du Plessis determined to ensure there's no debate over who's the true champion after this weekend.
"I did the right things to win that fight," he told reporters at UFC 312 media day.
"He is going to make adjustments to be better. And I have to do the same thing.
"It's not that I have to do anything different. I just have to do whatever I've been doing better."
Since his title win against Strickland, Du Plessis has gone on to finish former two-time champion Israel Adesanya via fourth-round submission in Perth, Australia last August in arguably the best performance of his career.
Now, five months on from that victory, Du Plessis says he's leveled up his game even further as he prepares to rematch Strickland this weekend in Sydney.
"I've had a year now to improve upon that performance (against Strickland)," he said.
"(Being) cleaner, to be fitter, stronger and in terms of strength, and that's not a problem – just being cleaner, being picking the shots, better, being more patient.
"This is not my first UFC title fight anymore, and I know I can push that pace for five rounds, so that changes my dynamic.
"But I'm not going into this fight thinking it's the same fight as the first one. He's going to make the adjustments. He knows what it's like in there with me, just like I know what he's doing."
Du Plessis also took the time to pay tribute to Strickland's team, led by Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick, with the UFC champion showing his respect to the opposing corner as they get ready to pit their wits against each other from a tactical standpoint on fight night.
"His team is incredible," Du Plessis admitted.
"He has an incredibly good coach. Coach Eric (Nicksick) is very well respected, and I have the world's respect for him.I know he's a master at the game plan and figuring it out, but so is my coaches and my team.
"So yeah, (it will be) very similar in-fight, because we both now know and how much could have really changed. It's just about being cleaner and better at everything."
Du Plessis said that he didn't think the first fight was close enough to produce a split-decision verdict, and insisted that Strickland rode his luck for one of the judges to score the bout in his favor. But now, "Stillknocks" is ready to produce a performance to show some separation in ability between champion and challenger on fight night.
"For me, that fight, the split decision, was the biggest shock to me," he admitted.
"I don't think it was a split decision. It was the biggest shock of that whole thing. But it was a great fight. It was a war, you know?
More news: Sean Strickland Recalls 'Most Challenging' Moment in First Fight With Dricus Du Plessis
"If you play the odds, like Strickland, in having eight split decisions in your career, you know, a split decision is what you call a coin flip. If you flip that coin eight times, you're bound to get unlucky a couple of times.
"You know, he got lucky with the split decision, otherwise we wouldn't be here. Now, 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 I would have preferred that fight, but I'm really happy this fight's happening, because now I can go and say, we're going to settle this.
"We're going to put this to bed."
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