A middleweight title rematch between champion Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland takes center stage at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia on Saturday night (Sunday morning locally).
Their first fight took place at UFC 297 in January 2024, with Strickland attempting to defend his championship for the first time after defeating two-time champion Israel Adesanya four months earlier at UFC 293.
du Plessis entered the bout after knocking out former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July 2023.
Their fight went the distance in a back-and-forth affair, as du Plessis and Strickland traded blows while attempting to see whose gas tank would empty first. du Plessis was eventually awarded a split decision — 48-47, 48-47, 47-47 — despite a fourth-round alleged headbutt by du Plessis being the arguable turning point.
Instead of the UFC granting an immediate rematch, Strickland (29-6 MMA) maintained his status as a divisional title contender by beating Paulo Costa five months later by decision at UFC 302. At the same time, du Plessis (22-2 MMA) secured a fourth-round rear-naked-choke against Adesanya at UFC 305 last August in his first title defense.
Meeting with media members Wednesday night, du Plessis said it’s hard to predict how the rematch will pan out, given Strickland’s unorthodox striking and relentless pace. That said, he clarified he is ready for wherever the fight goes.
“I’m going in there looking for that finish from the first bell,” du Plessis said. “And if it has to go to last bell (in Round 5), I’ll be looking for that knockout until the end of the fight.”
du Plessis clarified it was a punch, not a headbutt, that caused Strickland’s cut above his eye to worsen. Whatever the case, Strickland, known for his brash, no-nonsense persona, assured the Australian audience that a similar scenario wouldn’t happen again on fight night.
“It was a (expletive) headbutt, but even if it wasn’t, it doesn’t (expletive) matter cause it’s not gonna happen again,” he said.
The co-main event features a women’s strawweight title fight between champion Weili Zhang, who enters her third title defense during her second championship run, against No. 1 contender Tatiana Suarez.
The fight marks Zhang’s first in 10 months, as she defeated Xiaonan Yan at UFC 300 by decision to extend her win streak to four.
Meanwhile, Suarez, who dealt with nagging injuries before finally securing a title shot, has a chance to prove Las Vegas oddsmakers right with a win.
As of Thursday, DraftKings Sportsbook tabs Suarez (11-0 MMA) as a slight -120 favorite. The return on Zhang (25-3 MMA) is +100, which did not surprise Suarez.
“I don’t really put anything into that,” Suarez said of her favorable odds. “I just know I’m the best in the world, and obviously, the oddsmakers know it, too. I’m gonna go out there (and) win my belt.”
Zhang acknowledged Suarez’s all-around MMA skillset but said she is more seasoned regardless of what Suarez throws her way.
“I think I just want to do my best (and) focus on myself,” Zhang said.
Despite taking place in Australia, UFC 312 has a traditional 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT pay-per-view start time and can be seen on ESPN+ in the U.S.
–UFC 312 Main Card:
Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland, middleweight
Weili Zhang vs. Tatiana Suarez, women’s strawweight
Justin Tafa vs. Tallison Teixeira, heavyweight
Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato, light heavyweight
Jake Matthews vs. Francisco Prado, welterweight
–Field Level Media
