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 their January bout, where du Plessis dethroned Strickland in his first title defense.
There were rumors that Khamzat Chimaev might replace Strickland after his victory over Paulo Costa in June. However, UFC President Dana White confirmed that Strickland would receive his rematch.
In the co-main event, UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang will defend her title against Tatiana Suarez. Zhang’s upcoming defense marks her third title defense, aiming to extend her winning streak to five.
UFC 312 is scheduled for February 8, 2025, at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
Suarez was initially scheduled to face Virna Jandiroba at UFC 310, but the fight was canceled without official explanation.
It appears Suarez has been re-routed to her long-overdue title shot. Weili has nearly cleaned out the strawweight division, with Suarez and Jandiroba being two of the only top contenders she hasn’t fought and defeated.
Both fights will shape their respective divisions for 2025.
Du Plessis-Strickland 1 was close, but it wasn’t a wildly exciting fight. Many felt Strickland won the first fight, which helped his case in getting the rematch. Some fights don’t look great on paper, but it’s still right to book them.
The Du Plessis-Strickland rematch is one of those fights. If Strickland loses, he’ll likely never get another shot at Du Plessis.
Chimaev may need to take another fight before he can position himself to face the winner of Du Plessis-Strickland 2. Caio Borralho is another contender waiting in the wings for an opportunity to ascend.
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 will remain 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 game is superior to the champion’s.
Jandiroba is the odd woman out. 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 a chance to climb quickly and challenge for the title by the end of next year. According to Tapology, here’s a look at what’s on tap 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 – Lightweight
Here is a look at the results and highlights of some of the finishes from UFC 310.
UFC 310 Results And Bonus Winners
🏆 – Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Asakura via submission at 2:05 of the second round
Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Ian Machado Garry via unanimous decision (48-47×3)
Ciryl Gane def. Alexander Volkov via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
Bryce Mitchell def. Kron Gracie via TKO at 0:39 of the third round
Doo Ho Choi def. Nate Landwehr via TKO at 3:21 of the third round
Dominick Reyes def. Anthony Smith via TKO at 4:46 of the second round
🏆 – Vicente Luque def. Themba Gorimbo via submission at 0:52 of the first round (D’Arce Choke)
Movsar Evloev def. Aljamain Sterling via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
Bryan Battle def. Randy Brown via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
Eryk Anders def. Chris Weidman via TKO at 2:50 of Round 2
Joshua Van def. Cody Durden via 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 defeats Clay Guida via submission at 3:41 of Round 1 (Armbar)
🏆 – Kennedy Nzechukwu defeats Lukasz Brzeski via TKO at 4:51 of Round 1