UFC 312: Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 Preview
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UFC 312 heads to Sydney, Australia on February 8th. The card is headlined by the two championship bouts. UFC middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis aims to silence critics in a rematch against former champion Sean Strickland in the main event. UFC women’s strawweight champion, Weili Zhang faces undefeated grappler Tatiana Suarez in the featured co-main event.
Main Card
Middleweight Championship: Dricus Du Plessis (C) vs. Sean Strickland
UFC 312’s main event features a grudge match. Reigning middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis (22-2-0) will rematch former champion, Sean Strickland (29-6-0). Du Plessis is undefeated inside the UFC at 7-0, five of those wins being stoppages. The South African recently defended his title against Israel Adesanya with a fourth-round submission at UFC 305. Strickland wants to reclaim his title and revenge on Du Plessis after narrowly defeating Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June 2024.
Both men are ready to replicate the chaos inside the cage from their first fight. The first meeting at UFC 297 consisted of a back-and-forth kickboxing match with both men absorbing damage. Du Plessis displayed versatility in his striking as he attacked Strickland’s legs, body, and head. The South African champion pushed the pace for five rounds, maintaining the center of the cage. This situation was new for Strickland, as he’s usually the fighter who pushes a pace and wins the war of attrition. After five hard-fought rounds, the judges scorecard read a split decision (48-47 x2, 47-48) in favor of Du Plessis.
Women’s Strawweight Championship: Weili Zhang (C) vs. Tatiana Suarez
The reigning women’s strawweight champion, Weili Zhang (25-3-0) puts her title on the line against the undefeated submission artist, Tatiana Suarez (11-0-0).
Zhang, 35, is riding a four-fight win streak with three title fights. The two-time champion’s streak has come over Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Carla Esparza, Amanda Lemos, and Xianon Yan. However, she now faces a another tough test. Having displayed quality wrestling in her last three fights, Zhang possesses a well-rounded game. Surprisingly, she comes into this fight as the slight betting underdog.
Suarez, 34, boasts an impressive unblemished professional record and sits at 7-0 in the UFC. She has defeated the likes of Jessica Andrade, Montana De La Rosa, Carla Esparza, and Alexa Grasso. The dominant wrestler will not shy away from her strengths inside the cage. Everyone expects her to test Zhang’s grappling skills. The last time Suarez fought, she secured a second-round submission over Jessica Andrade in August 2023.
Additional Main Card Bouts:
- Heavyweight: Justin Tafa (7-4-0, 1NC) vs. Tallison Teixeira (7-0-0)
- Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute (12-4-1) vs. Rodolfo Bellato (12-2-0)
- Welterweight: Jake Matthews (20-7-0) vs. Francisco Prado (12-2-0)
Preliminary Card
Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos
The featured prelim bout offers a featherweight treat for fight fans. Australian striker, Jack Jenkins (13-3-0) faces the always-entertaining Brazilian, Gabriel Santos (11-2-0). Jenkins is 3-1 inside the promotion and looks to expand upon his one-fight win streak. Santos is 1-2 inside the UFC. However, the 28-year-old former LFA champion has fought strictly tough opposition like Lerone Murphy, David Onama, and Yizha.
Jenkins, 31, comes into this explosive matchup as the slight betting underdog. Pundits are heavily accounting for the difference in the level of competition faced in the UFC. The kickboxing-based fighter last fought at UFC 305, defeating Herbert Burns via third-round TKO. Jenkins has cracking low kicks as he has broken his opponents’ fibula on three occasions. He tends to use a lot of low and high feints to try and set up clean strikes. He will occasionally switch stances. This strategy keeps his opponent guessing. In boxing, he tends to lean on his left hand.
Santos has faced only stiff competition in his three fights with the UFC. He went to a split decision with Lerone Murphy. More recently, he edged a unanimous decision over Zhu Rong. He is more than likely not underestimating the home-crowd fighter, Jenkins. This will serve as an interesting stylistic clash. Jenkins provides a legitimate finishing threat on the feet. Santos can finish the fight on the ground and in the striking.
Aleksandre Topuria vs. Colby Thicknesse
Aleksandre Topuria (5-1-0) is the older brother of UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. He makes his UFC debut against young and undefeated Australian, Colby Thicknesse (7-0-0). Thicknesse also makes his promotional debut after fortunately stepping in as a short-notice replacement for Cody Haddon. During a sparring session, Haddon was forced to withdraw following a break in his right foot.
Many fans and pundits are skeptical of Topuria’s debut at UFC 312. They doubt his success, given the bantamweight’s inactivity inside the cage over his nine years as a professional. Topuria, 29, started his professional MMA career back in 2015. He quickly racked up back-to-back wins to kick off his time as a pro. However, he faced a much larger opponent in his third fight, who defeated him via third-round TKO. After this loss, Topuria decided to take a six-year break. He shifted his focus to developing his younger brother Ilia’s MMA journey. He would return to the cage in December 2021 by scoring a first-round TKO. Topuria is 3-0, and all wins have come via stoppage since he made his professional MMA return. The Georgian-born fighter holds a similar style to his younger brother, utilizing his boxing stance and implementing timely takedowns.
As for his short-notice opponent, 25-year-old Thicknesse comes from a respectable amateur background. He now holds an unblemished professional record of 7-0. The young Australian is one of former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanvoski’s main training partners. Thicknesse pulled off an eye-catching achievement of four wins in 2024, the last three being finishes. He is a crafty grappler who tends to weather the early storm of his physically stronger opponents.
Additional Preliminary Bouts:
- Lightweight: Tom Nolan (8-1-0) vs Viacheslav Borshchev (8-4-1)
- Women’s Flyweight: Wang Cong (6-1-0) vs. Bruna Brasil (10-4-1)
Early Preliminary Card
Zhu Rong vs. Kody Steele
The featured early prelim bout packs a showdown between talented young lightweights. Road to UFC season 2 winner, Zhu Rong (25-6-0) takes on Dana White Contender Series alum, Kody Steele (7-0-0).
Steele, 29, comes into this fight as the moderate betting favorite, and for good reason. The explosive lightweight has finished four of his last five wins via TKO. Steele has only a quarter of the professional experience that his opponent has. However, the Washington-born fighter compensates with ferocious finishing potential on the feet.
Rong, 24, entered the company in 2021 when he unsuccessfully debuted on the early prelims of UFC 261. Rong would lose his roster spot after going 1-2 inside the UFC and head back to the regional scene. After a successful regional scene appearance, Rong entered his hat into the second season of Road to UFC in 2023. He ended up winning the competition and earning a contract. The Chinese fighter returned to the UFC and suffered a second-round TKO against Chris Padilla back in September 2024.
Additional Early Prelims Bouts:
- Welterweight: Jonathan Micallef (7-1-0) vs. Kevin Jousset (10-3-0)
- Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld (7-1-0) vs. Anshul Jubli (7-1-0)
- Flyweight: Park Hyun-Sung (9-0-0) vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel (8-1-0)
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