Former UFC Middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis wants his belt back.

Unfortunately, it’s not likely to be a quick road back to UFC gold. At UFC 319, du Plessis lost a one-sided and not-very-exciting decision to Khamzat Chimaev, failing to find an answer to the Chechen’s dominant wrestling. The loss was his first in 10 UFC appearances and came after multiple title defenses, but nobody is clamoring for a rematch just yet.

Brendan Allen, however, is clamoring for a shot at “DDP.” Allen and du Plessis have traded verbal shots back-and-forth over the years, usually after Allen loses a fight. This time around, the tables have turned, as Allen is riding a career-best win over Reinier de Ridder while du Plessis is reeling from the “Borz” defeat. Perhaps the timing finally makes sense? Du Plessis is open to the matchup, as well as any other fight that moves him closer to a title shot.

“He wins two fights in a row and then is calling out former champions?” du Plessis said of Allen to FightForecast (h/t Full Send MMA). “I would love to smash his face in, absolutely love it. He’s such an idiot. I only pick the best guys. I always want to fight the best next guy. For me where I’m at, I don’t want a hype fight, I want the fight that’s going to get me to the title the quickest. If [Allen] is the fight the UFC wants? Sure. Does it really make sense on a two-fight win streak? There’s a lot of guys. I don’t care, as long as it gets me back to my belt.”

Likely, du Plessis is at least two wins away from a rematch with Chimaev. Knocking off Allen would be a strong way to rebound though, a reminder that “Stillknocks” is still in his prime and among the best 185-pound talents in the world. Alternatively, there’s always a chance that Nassourdine Imavov defeats Chimaev, and it would greatly benefit the South African to be in the win column if that upset were to happen.

Book it?