Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2, Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez announced for UFC 312 in Australia

Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland are set for a rematch and Zhang Weili returns to fight Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312.

The championship bouts were announced during the UFC 310 broadcast on Saturday. Du Plessis will defend his title against Strickland in a main event rematch on February 8 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, while Zhang will seek a second consecutive defense of her strawweight title when she faces Suarez in the co-main event .

Du Plessis and Strickland fought for the first time at UFC 297 last January, with du Plessis winning a close decision to capture Strickland’s middleweight title. The South African star defeated rival Israel Adesanya in his first defense at UFC 305 last August.

With a decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 last June, Strickland fought his way back to a title shot. He hopes to become a two-time champion after beating Adesanya for the middleweight belt at UFC 293.

Zhang is competing for the first time since UFC 300 last April, when she secured a decisive lead over Yan Xiaonan. She is currently the strawweight world champion for the second time and has won four fights in a row.

The championship booking is a blessing for Suarez, who recently had to withdraw from a fight with Virna Jandiroba for unknown reasons. Suarez has lost in 10 professional fights, most recently in August 2023 against former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade.