Du Plessis and Strickland run it back in Australia
Du Plessis and Strickland run it back in Australia
UFC is back in Australia this weekend with a pair of title fights atop the marquee. It’s a big one in Sydney when middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis takes on former champion Sean Strickland in the main event. Plus, women’s strawweight queen Zhang Weili returns to take on arguably her toughest opponent left in the division in Tatiana Suarez.
The pair of middleweights battled it out 13 months ago in a Fight of the Night effort that saw du Plessis take the title by split decision. The South African followed that up with a surprising submission of former champion Israel Adesanya. Du Plessis is 8-0 inside the Octagon with each performance standing out more and more. Strickland earned his chance at a rematch with a thorough win over Paulo Costa.
The co-main event might be as dramatic when Zhang and Suarez meet. Zhang has not been super active of late with just four fights since June 2022. Her last win came in April when she battled past fellow Chinese fighter Yan Xiaonan. Suarez, meanwhile, has had her own problems with inactivity because of injuries throughout her career. Her last fight came in August 2023 when she submitted former champion Jessica Andrade.
While there’s not a ton of meaningful fights to divisional rankings on the undercard, there are plenty of interesting names to the Oceanic region in action. Jake Matthews looks to get back on track when he takes on Francisco Prado to open the PPV. Matthews has alternated wins and losses in his last seven appearances. Then, another favored son is back when Jimmy Crute steps back into the Octagon to take on Rodolfo Bellato. Crute is winless in his last four appearances in the Octagon with three stoppage losses. And heavyweights get fans ready for the two title fights when Justin Tafa faces Tallison Teixeira. Tafa suffered his first defeat since 2021 in his last fight when he dropped a decision to Karl Williams. Before that, Tafa had ripped off three straight wins by KO.
Below is the complete fight card for UFC 312 along with the latest odds. Check back all week long for the latest news, features and other content around this massive event.
UFC 312 fight card, odds
- Dricus du Plessis (c) -220 vs. Sean Strickland +180, middleweight title
- Tatiana Suarez -135 vs. Zhang Weili (c) +115, women’s strawweight title
- Tallison Teixeira -155 vs. Justin Tafa +130, heavyweights
- Rodolfo Bellato -150 vs. Jimmy Crute +125, light heavyweights
- Jake Matthews -240 vs. Francisco Prado +195, welterweights
- Gabriel Santos -230 vs. Jack Jenkins +190, featherweights
- Viacheslav Borshchev -120 vs. Tom Nolan +100, lightweights
- Wang Cong -355 vs. Bruna Brasil +280, women’s flyweights
- Aleksandre Topuria -345 vs. Colby Thicknesse +275, bantamweights
- Rongzhu -300 vs. Kody Steele +240, lightweights
- Kevin Jousset -240 vs. Jonathan Micallef +195, welterweights
- Quillan Salkilld -650 vs. Anshul Jubli +470, lightweights
UFC 312 info
- Date: Feb. 8
- Location: Qudos Bank Arena — Sydney, Australia
- Start time: 10 p.m. ET (Main card)
- How to watch: ESPN+ PPV
UFC 312 countdown
Who wins UFC 312: du Plessis vs. Strickland 2, and how exactly does the fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks and analysis from the incomparable expert who is up over $1,500 on his UFC main-card picks, and find out.
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