Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 - Best fights & fighters to watch at UFC 312

The UFC heads back to Australia this week for UFC 312, which is topped by a pair of highly-anticipated title bouts.

The Main Event

The main event will see Dricus du Plessis attempt to defend his middleweight belt for the second time when he and Sean Strickland square off in a rematch of their 2024 meeting.

Dricus Du Plessis celebrates defeating Sean Strickland during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Strickland rebounded from losing his title with a split decision over former title challenger Paulo Costa at UFC 302, while “Stillknocks” solidified his place as the UFC’s middleweight king when he submitted two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305 in August.

Sean Strickland fights Paulo Costa during UFC 302 at Prudential Center. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Co-Main Event

The night’s co-main event features undefeated challenger Tatiana Suarez taking on reigning UFC Strawweight Champion Weili Zhang.

Zhang Weili during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Currently in her second reign as strawweight champion, Zhang has already successfully defended her belt against Amanda Lemos and her countrywoman Yan Xiaonan. Suarez has struggled with injuries throughout her UFC career, but after submitting former Strawweight Champion Jessica Andrade in her last outing the American is finally set for her first crack at UFC gold.

Tatiana Suarez celebrates the win by submission over Jessica Andrade during a UFC Fight Night at Bridgestone Arena. | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Fights You Don’t Want To Miss

Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos

This well-matched featherweight bout will serve as the featured prelim for UFC 312 before the main card action kicks off.

Lerone Murphy fights Gabriel Santos during UFC 286 at O2 Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

Santos secured his first UFC win last year against Yizha after starting his UFC career with back-to-back losses, and now he’ll try to build some momentum against a dangerous striker in Jenkins that will also have the support of the Australian crowd behind him on Saturday night.

Jack Jenkins has his heel caught by Jamall Emmers in a featherweight bout during a UFC Fight Night. — Jack Jenkins has his heel caught by Jamall Emmers in a featherweight bout during a UFC Fight Night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Aleksandre Topuria vs. Colby Thicknesse

The elder Topuria was initially scheduled to make his debut against Cody Haddon, but instead he’ll now face fellow promotional newcomer and undefeated bantamweight Colby Thicknesse.

Like Jenkins, Thicknesse has the advantage of fighting in front of the fans in his home country, while Topuria already has plenty of pre-fight attention on him given that he’s the older brother of UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria.

Fighters To Watch

Cong Wang

Wang suffered a massive upset-loss against Gabriella Fernandes in her second UFC outing in November, and now “The Joker” will try to get back on track and regain some of her considerable hype when she squares off with Bruna Brasil.

Kody Steele

Steele is one of the more well-rounded prospects to join the UFC in recent memory, and although he boasts plenty of competitive grappling experience the 29-year-old only has a fraction of the pro fights that his opponent Ronzhu does.

Hyun Sung Park

One of five undefeated fighters competing at UFC 312, Park scored stoppage-wins in his first two UFC outings in 2023 and is now set to compete for the first time in more than a year after being sidelined by a knee injury.