UFC announces two championship fights for Massive UFC 312

During UFC 310, the promotion announced the main and co-main events for UFC 312.

In the main event, Dricus du Plessis will defend his UFC middleweight championship against Sean Strickland in a rematch of the January fight in which du Plessis dethroned Strickland in his first title defense.

There were rumors that Khamzat Chimaev could replace Strickland after his win over Paulo Costa in June. However, UFC President Dana White confirmed that Strickland would get his rematch.

In the co-main event, UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang will defend her title against Tatiana Suarez. Zhang’s upcoming defense is her third title defense and aims to extend her winning streak to five.

UFC 312 is scheduled for February 8, 2025 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Suarez was originally scheduled to face Virna Jandiroba at UFC 310, but the fight was canceled without an official explanation.

It appears Suarez has been redirected to her long overdue title shot. Weili has all but eliminated the strawweight division, with Suarez and Jandiroba being two of the only top contenders she hasn’t fought or defeated.

Both fights will shape their respective divisions for 2025.

Du Plessis-Strickland 1 was close, but it wasn’t a particularly exciting fight. Many felt that Strickland won the first fight, which helped him win the rematch. Some fights don’t look great on paper, but it’s still the right thing to book.

The rematch between Du Plessis and Strickland is one of those fights. If Strickland loses, he will probably never get another chance at Du Plessis.

Chimaev may have to have another fight before he can hold his own against the winner of Du Plessis-Strickland 2. Caio Borralho is another contender waiting in the wings for a chance at promotion.

Suarez has been the No. 1 contender for several months. Injuries have kept her out of action since August 2023. The hope is that Suarez stays healthy so she can challenge Weili for the title. It’s an intriguing fight as Suarez may be the only woman in the strawweight division whose ground fighting is superior to that of the champion.

Jandiroba is the strange woman. Yan Xiaonan could be the next opponent for Jandiroba, with the winner getting the next title shot after Suarez. Keep an eye on No. 7 Iasmin Lucindo in the first half of 2025.

She has the chance to rise quickly and fight for the title by the end of next year. According to Tapology, here’s what’s planned for UFC 312.

UFC 312 confirmed card

• (c) Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland – UFC Middleweight Championship
• (c) Weili Zhang vs. Tatiana Suarez – UFC Strawweight Championship
• Rei Tsuruya vs. Stewart Nicoll – Men’s flyweight
• Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio – Light heavyweight
• Quillan Salkilld vs Anshul Jubli – Light

Here’s a look at the results and highlights of some of UFC 310’s finishes.

UFC 310 results and bonus winners

🏆 – Alexandre Pantoja defeated. Kai Asakura via submission at 2:05 of the second round

Shavkat Rakhmonov defeated. Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision (48-47×3)

Ciryl Gane defeated. Alexander Volkov via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)

Bryce Mitchell defeated. Kron Gracie via TKO at 0:39 of the third round

Doo Ho Choi defeated. Nate Landwehr via TKO at 3:21 of the third round

Dominick Reyes defeated. Anthony Smith via TKO at 4:46 of the second round

🏆 – Vicente Luque defeated. Themba Gorimbo by submission at 0:52 of the first round (D’Arce Choke)

Movsar Evloev defeated. Aljamain Sterling by unanimous decision (29-28×3)

Bryan Battle defeated. Randy Brown via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)

Eryk Anders defeated. Chris Weidman via TKO at 2:50 of round 2

Joshua Van defeated. Cody Durden by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)

Michael Chiesa defeats Max Griffin via submission at 1:56 of round 3 (rear-naked choke)

🏆 – Chase Hooper defeated Clay Guida via submission at 3:41 of round 1 (armbar)

🏆 – Kennedy Nzechukwu defeated Lukasz Brzeski by TKO at 4:51 of round 1