How to watch UFC 312 PPV & betting odds for Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2

The UFC heads back to Australia on Saturday night on the eve of the Super Bowl.

Zain Bando | Feb 8, 2025

(Zuffa LLC)

The UFC returns to Sydney, Australia, for a pay-per-view offering headlined by two championship fights – Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland (DDP's middleweight title) and a women's strawweight title fight between Weili Zhang and Tatiana Suarez.

DDP vs. Strickland 2

Thirteen months ago, du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) fought to a closely-contested decision with Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) that saw du Plessis take the belt from the then-champion. Some MMA pundits believed Strickland had done enough to keep the belt, while others felt the South African's efforts in the championship rounds propelled him to an upset.

Main card predictions for UFC 312 - Can Strickland reclaim the belt from du Plessis?

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

The pre-fight buildup to their second encounter has been contentious, to say the least. Strickland has continued to remain brash, still holding onto the belief he won the first fight. Meanwhile, du Plessis, who is entering the second defense of his belt, has kept his composure while focusing on the task at hand.

No matter how the fight plays out Saturday night, one can argue the rightful winnners are UFC fans. There have been several middleweight title encounters with this much intrigue, such as Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen and Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya as two matchups with multiple fights where the stakes were equally as important.

Sean Strickland fights Dricus Du Plessis during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

If Strickland wins, a trilogy (although not immediate) is on the table. However, if du Plessis gets it done again, there is no denying that Khamzat Chimaev, as UFC CEO Dana White hinted at last weekend, is the deserving next title challenger.

UFC 312 loses fight on weigh-in day, du Plessis & Strickland both make weight

Zhang vs. Suarez

It may be getting an insufficient amount of attention, but Zhang (25-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) vs. Suarez (11-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is equally important in the co-feature. Zhang has won four in a row since regaining her title, while Suarez is making her first pay-per-view appearance since June 2019.

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

Suarez is looking to add to her hit-list of former or current champions she has beat so far, including Alexa Grasso, Carla Esparza, and Jéssica Andrade, to name a few. Zhang took an extended layoff, defeating Yan Xiaonan last April at UFC 300.

Jessica Andrade fights Tatiana Suarez during UFC Fight Night at Bridgestone Arena. / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 full prelim fight predictions for UFC 312

An Australian-heavy fight card features 12 fights with a traditional U.S. start time. Get all the details below, including betting odds (DraftKings Sportsbook) as of early Saturday afternoon (ET).

UFC 312 Main Card (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, ESPN+ PPV)

• Main Event Rematch: Dricus du Plessis (+114) vs. Sean Strickland (-135) – For the UFC Middleweight Championship

• Co-Main Event: Weili Zhang (+120) vs. Tatiana Suarez (-142) – For the UFC Strawweight Championship

• Justin Tafa (+130) vs. Tallison Teixeira (-145)

• Jimmy Crute (+124) vs. Rodolfo Bellato (-148)

• Jake Matthews (-238) vs. Francisco Prado (+195)

UFC 312 Preliminary Card (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, ESPN+/ESPN2)

• Jack Jenkins (+190) vs. Gabriel Santos (-230)

• Tom Nolan (+100) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (-120)

• Wang Cong (-355) vs. Bruna Brasil (+280)

• Colby Thicknesse (+275) vs Aleksandre Topuria (-345)

UFC 312 Early Preliminary Card (6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT – ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass)

• Rongzhu (+240) vs. Kody Steele (-298)

• Jonathan Micallef (+195) vs. Kevin Jousset (-238)

• Quillan Salkilld (-650) vs. Anshil Jubli (+470)

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Published Feb 8, 2025

ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99