UFC 312 has taken a hit.
The flyweight fight between Rei Tsuruya and Stewart Nicoll that was scheduled to take place on the prelims is off, and per Marcel Dorff of Tapology, there won’t be any replacements added to fill the spot.
Nicoll was forced to pull out of the fight due to an injury.
The fight was set to give fans an opportunity to see Tsuruya, a 22-year-old Japanese prospect, in action on a large stage. He holds a perfect 10-0 record as a professional and is 1-0 since earning a contract with the UFC.
UFC President Dana White and Co. are probably being careful and intentional about Tsuruya’s matchups early in his career. The UFC wants to establish a footprint in Japan and they know they will need stars from the region to help make that happen.
Nicoll, a local product from Redcliffe, Queensland, lost his UFC debut to Jesus Aguilar in August 2024 at UFC 305.
Nicoll’s opportunity to bounce back will have to happen at a later date.
The two title fights scheduled for UFC 312 are still happening. Dricus du Plessis will defend his UFC middleweight title against Sean Strickland in a rematch.
In the co-main event, UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang will defend her title against Tatiana Suarez.
Here is an updated look at the card scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 8, at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
- (c) Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland – UFC Middleweight Championship
- (c) Weili Zhang vs. Tatiana Suarez – UFC Women’s Strawweight
- Quinn Salkilld vs. Anshul Jubli – Lightweight
- Tallison Teixeira vs. Justin Tafa – Heavyweight
- Tom Nolan vs. Viacheslav Borshchev – Lightweight
- Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos – Featherweight
- Cody Haddon vs. Aleksandre Topuria – Bantamweight
- Cong Wang vs. Bruna Brasil – Flyweight
- Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato – Light Heavyweight
- Kody Steele vs. Rongzhu – Lightweight
- Kevin Jousset vs. Jonathan Micallef – Welterweight
- Jake Matthews vs. Francisco Prado – Welterweight
- Hyun Sung Park vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel – Flyweight
What’s Next For the UFC?
Before the UFC makes its way Down Under, the promotion will stop in Inglewood, California, for UFC 311 on Saturday, January 18.
Like UFC 312, the event at the Intuit Dome will feature two world championship bouts. Islam Makhachev will defend his UFC lightweight championship against Arman Tsarukyan.
In the co-main event, Merab Dvalishvili will defend his UFC bantamweight title against Umar Nurmagomedov.
Here is a look at the complete card and viewing information.
UFC 311 Main Card (10PM ET and ESPN+ Pay-Per-View)
- Lightweight Title Bout: Islam Makhachev (Champion) vs. (1) Arman Tsarukyan
- Bantamweight Title Bout: Merab Dvalishvili (Champion) vs. (2) Umar Nurmagomedov
- Lightweight Bout: (9) Beneil Dariush vs. (10) Renato Moicano
- Light Heavyweight Bout: (2) Jiří Procházka vs. (3) Jamahal Hill
- Middleweight Bout: Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder
UFC 311 Preliminary Card (8PM ET on ESPNEWS & ESPN+)
- Light Heavyweight Bout: (13) Bogdan Guskov vs. Billy Elekana
- Bantamweight Bout: Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos
- Heavyweight Bout: (6) Jailton Almeida vs. (7) Serghei Spivac
- Middleweight Bout: Zach Reese vs. Azamat Bekoev
UFC 311 Early Preliminary Card (6PM ET on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+)
- Lightweight Bout: Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
- Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Karol Rosa vs. Ailín Pérez
- Bantamweight Bout: Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
- Bantamweight Bout: Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj
- Flyweight Bout: (11) Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter
