TORONTO, ONTARIO – JANUARY 19: (L-R) Opponents Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa face off through the UFC 297 ceremonial weigh-in at Scotiabank Area on January 19, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario. (Picture by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC through Getty Pictures)
UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia this February is bringing a powerful 1-2 punch atop the Pay-Per-View card.
In the principle occasion, middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis (22-2) will look to defend his title in a rematch with Sean Strickland (29-6), whereas within the evening’s co-headliner, Weili Zhang (25-3) is about to place her strawweight gold on the road reverse Tatiana Suarez (10-0).
Each title fights have been introduced throughout Saturday’s UFC 310 broadcast.
Du Plessis and Strickland first met at UFC 297 in Toronto, Canada again in January, the place Strickland was trying to make his first title protection. The struggle didn’t go his approach, nevertheless, with judges awarding Du Plessis the cut up determination victory. Since then, Strickland bounced again with a cut up determination win of his personal, defeating Paulo Costa at UFC 302.
Regardless of the return of Khamzat Chimaev in a dominant efficiency earlier this 12 months, Strickland has been given the nod for the title shot, maybe based mostly as a lot on timing and the present rivalry with the champ as the rest. Du Plessis vs. Strickland I at occasions bought ugly within the lead-up to the struggle, with South Africa’s Du Plessis making feedback about Strickland’s abusive father.
“Stillknocks,” as Du Plessis is in any other case identified, is coming off a submission win in opposition to former middleweight champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. The previous KSW title holder boasts wins over Robert Whittaker, Darren Until, Derek Brunson, and Roberto Soldic, amongst others.
China’s Weili Zhang is in her second reign because the UFC girls’s strawweight champion, and has defended her title twice this time round. Most just lately, she earned a unanimous determination over fellow Chinese language standout Yan Xiaonan on the historic UFC 300 in April.
Suarez, now 33, gained The Final Fighter 23 in 2016, however has fought simply six occasions since. Damage has plagued Suarez; she wound up withdrawing from fights with Amanda Lemos and Virna Jandiroba this 12 months, leaving her most up-to-date struggle as an August 2023 submission of Jessica Andrade.
UFC 312 takes place on February 8 (Feb. 9 regionally), 2025 on the Qudos Financial institution Area in Sydney, Australia.
