A middleweight rematch is heading down under.
Just over a year after their close split decision result in Canada, UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis and former titleholder Sean Strickland will soon meet once again.
The second clash between the 185-pound talents will headline UFC 312 on February 8th from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, per an announcement that was made Saturday.
Strickland’s first title reign was cut short by Du Plessis in early 2024, as the South Africa fighter went five rounds against him to eke out a split decision result. The 25-minute brawl was highly competitive on scorecards, with all judges having a margin of just one round. Viewers were equally divided, as 10 of the 23 media scores on MMADecisions.com sided with Strickland by just a single round.
Strickland has since regained momentum, putting together a five-round decision against Paulo Costa in June. While the competitive nature of his first meeting with Du Plessis already made him a qualified contender, the recent only further cemented his status as a future opponent for the champ.
Du Plessis is returning to his rivalry with Strickland shortly after publishing the latest chapter in his story with Israel Adesanya. He became the first MMA fighter to stop the former long-time middleweight champ at UFC 305 this year, putting him away in the fourth round of a bout via submission. The fight was the culmination of a multi-year feud between the talents, dating back to when Adesanya held the belt and Du Plessis was still a fighter on the rise.
A win for Strickland would make him just the second middleweight fighter in UFC history to win the title twice, something Adesanya became the first to achieve just last year. If Du Plessis emerges victorious, he’ll become the fifth middleweight champ to defend their title twice or more.
Strawweight Champ Zhang To Meet Undefeated Suarez
Before the middleweight rematch goes down, a strawweight contender will get her long-awaited shot at gold in the strawweight division.
Undefeated Tatiana Suarez has been booked to meet UFC Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili in the co-main event spot of the upcoming card.
For years, Suarez has been seen by many as a future title challenger. While numerous injuries have delayed her rise throughout the years, victories over high-profile names like Alexa Grasso and Carla Esparza proved that the Season 23 “Ultimate Fighter” winner was one to keep an eye on.
Suarez became one of the division’s top challengers last year when she submitted former champ Jessica Andrade in the second round of a fight via guillotine choke. As of right now, she sits in the first-ranked spot in the official 115-pound standings.
UFC aimed earlier this year to place Suarez against fellow contenders Amanda Lemos or Virna Jandiroba, although both fights fell through. While Jandiroba – who beat Lemos recently and is ranked third in the division – remains a viable option for a title opponent, UFC has for now opted to give Suarez her chance at gold.
The upcoming booking finally lines up a return for Zhang, who, with 239 days away from the cage, is the least recent champion fans have seen compete in the UFC cage.
The Chinese 115-pound talent has been dominant since kicking off her second reign in 2022 with a submission win over Esparza. Following that victory she was gone the distance against both Lemos and Yan Xiaonan, walking away with a lopsided decision result in both instances.
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