Undisputed middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis will make his return to action in the headliner of UFC 312 in two months — booking a main event rematch with rival and former champion, Sean Strickland for the February 9. card from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
du Plessis, the current undisputed middleweight champion, has been sidelined since August, most recently headlining UFC 305 in a trip ‘Downunder’ — taking on common-foe and former two-time champion, Israel Adesanya.
And successfully defending the championship for the first time, Pretoria native, du Plessis would latch onto an eventual fourth round neck crank submission win over the City Kickboxing star.
As for Strickland, the former champion rebounded to the winner’s enclosure at UFC 302 back in June, taking home a decision win over former title challenger, Paulo Costa in New Jersey.
Dricus du Plessis headlines UFC 312 in title rematch with Sean Strickland
And as per the UFC 310 broadcast tonight, Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland will enter the Octagon again in a headliner rematch at UFC 312 in the new year.
We’re taking TWO title fights down under
@DricusDuPlessis vs @SStricklandMMA 2
Zhang WeilI vs @TatianaUFC #UFC312 |— UFC (@ufc) December 8, 2024
Tickets on sale next week!
First meeting in the main event of UFC 297 earlier this year in ‘The Great White North’, du Plessis would snatch the undisputed middleweight crown from Strickland in a close-fought, contentious split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) victory — to much debate and discourse from the latter.
Himself winning the middleweight crown in September of last year, outspoken American star, Strickland would also defeat common-opposition, Adesanya, besting the veteran with a one-sided unanimous decision win.
To go with du Plessis’ title rematch with Strickland, UFC 312 will also feature an undisputed strawweight championship fight between Chinese gold holder, Zhang Weili, and unbeaten 10-0 challenger, Tatiana Suarez — who currently holds the number one rank in the strawweight division.