Undisputed UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis has a clear goal for his next title defence: to become the first man to hand defeat to the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev.

Du Plessis left no doubt as to who the current pacesetter at 185-pounds is after scoring a comprehensive five-round decision win over former champion Sean Strickland in Sydney, Australia in the UFC 312 main event late on Saturday night. The South African’s recent run has seen him score wins over former middleweight champions in each of his past four fights (Strickland x2, Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker) — but there is one man who has so far eluded him.

And speaking to the media Down Under post-fight, including The Mac Life, Du Plessis said that while he aspires to one day clash with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (who was in Strickland’s corner on Saturday), there is only one man who he can fight next.

“I want to make sure that with this belt, the middleweight title, there is no question that I’m the GOAT of the middleweight division. I know you have Anderson Silva — in my mind he is the GOAT of this division. You have Adesanya who’s done incredible things. But it’s not about how many times you defend, it’s about who you fight, how you defend it and in what period of time you’ve done it.

“I’m not rushing that my next fight is Alex Pereira. No. I want Khamzat next. He deserves a hiding.”

You can watch Du Plessis’ comments in the video above.