The fight order for UFC 312 has been finalized.
Dricus du Plessis will defend his UFC middleweight title against Sean Strickland in the main event at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, February 8.
The fight is a rematch of their clash in January 2024, which saw DDP dethrone Strickland in the latter’s first title defense after pulling off the upset win over Israel Adesanya in 2023.
DDP has since successfully defended the title against Adesanya in August 2024, so the rematch will be the champion’s second title defense.
The co-main event will see UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang defend her title against Tatiana Suarez. This matchup has been one of the most anticipated fights in the division, but injuries have kept Suarez out of the Octagon.
Suarez has a perfect 10-0 record, but she hasn’t fought since a submission win over Jessica Andrade in August 2023. Zhang has been more active, but not by much.
The champion’s last defense was a unanimous decision win over Yan Xiaonan in April 2024 at UFC 300.
Here is a look at the confirmed bout order per ESPN. As usual, the broadcast will work from the bottom to the top of the lineup of fights below.
Main Card – 10 PM ET
- (C) Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland – UFC Middleweight Championship
- (C) Weili Zhang vs. Tatiana Suarez – UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
- Justin Tafa vs. Talisson Teixeira – Heavyweight
- Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato – Light Heavyweight
- Jake Matthews vs. Francisco Prado – Welterweight
Prelims – 8 PM ET
- Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos – Featherweight
- Tom Nolan vs. Viacheslav Borschev – Lightweight
- Wang Cong vs. Bruna Brasil – Women’s Flyweight
- Colby Thicknesse vs. Aleksandre Topuria – Men’s Bantamweight
Early Prelims – 6 PM ET
- Jonathan Micallef vs. Kevin Jousset – Welterweight
- Kody Steele vs. Rongzhu – Lightweight
- Quillan Salkilld vs. Anshul Jubli – Lightweight
- HyunSung Park vs. Ayamjargal Tumendemberel – Men’s Flyweight
3 Fighters to Watch at UFC 312
Beyond the main and co-main events, there isn’t a ton of star power on this card. The most intriguing fights involve fighters making their promotional debuts.
In the early prelims, recent Dana White’s Contender Series winner Kody Steele is making his main roster debut. Steele comes in with an outstanding pedigree in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and explosive athleticism.
He looks like the kind of prospect who could become a title contender over the next three years. Rongzhu will provide his first level of opposition.
Aleksandre Topuria is the brother of current featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. Aleksandre is making his UFC debut against a late replacement in Thicknesse. An interesting sidenote: Thicknesse will be cornered by former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Ilia will be in his brother’s corner too.
On the main card, Brazilian heavyweight prospect Teixeira stands 6-foot-8 and is making his main roster debut against the hard-punching Tafa. Teixeira is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who also possesses lights-out power. It’ll be interesting to see how he approaches the fight.
We’ll see if Steele, Topuria or Teixeira make a major impact in their first official fights under the UFC banner.
Be on the lookout for post-event coverage and fight week news leading up to the event.
Read the full article here
