UFC 312 isn’t a great pay-per-view (PPV) fight card.
Now, anytime you offer any kind of criticism of a UFC event before it happens, there are two default responses. UFC CEO, Dana White, himself will tell you not to watch, and his most ardent supporters will argue in the comments that it’s always the cards you never expect to be any good that are actually quite fun. I expect the latter to be true to some degree, as the unheralded undercard match ups do promise good fun.
The problem is UFC 312’s PPV main card isn’t worth $80.
The promotion’s second pay-per-view (PPV) event of 2025 features exactly two high-profile match ups and four ranked fighters: the main- and co-main events. The women’s Strawweight title fight is genuinely exciting, as the sport’s most dominant female fighter, Zhang Weili, aims to notch a fourth defense against unbeaten wrestling phenom, Tatiana Suarez. I can offer no complaints about that bout serving as a PPV co-main event, barring perhaps a deep-seated fear that Suarez will suffer an injury at the last possible second.
UFC 312’s main event rematch between Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland is … good? I’m an unabashed du Plessis fan. I’ve enjoyed his violent rise to the championship, equal parts moxie and sneaky technical prowess. His fights have been worth tuning in for every single time.
Strickland? Not so much.
If you only watch Strickland work, his performances are nearly indistinguishable from one another — jab, teep, and shoulder roll in perpetuity. Now, the first match up was competitive and reasonably fun (though mediocre by “DDP” standards), and a rematch should happen.
Eventually.
Twelve months is not long enough a gap. No tension has built, no real demand to see these two run it back. Strickland’s ho-hum split-decision win over Paulo Costa is a really uninspired argument for another title shot, particularly when there’s a much better option overshadowing the event.
Khamzat Chimaev was a vastly more interesting opponent for du Plessis’ second title defense. The way in which he ran through Robert Whittaker was outright historic, the precise type of monumental stoppage victory over an elite foe that Strickland has never achieved. “Borz” is a genuine freak of nature, the type of singular talent who is absolutely must-watch regardless of his health issues.
If this card remained the exact same aside from swapping Strickland and Chimaev, the purchase is a lot easier to argue. As a fight fan, you have to tune in and see if Khamzat finally wins UFC gold or coughs up his undefeated status. You just have to. You’re paying to witness history, potentially one of the biggest MMA moments of the 2020s.
Comparatively, how invested can one be about du Plessis vs. Strickland 2? If du Plessis wins, we’ve already seen that happen in recent memory. Strickland could flip the script and take the decision this time, but everyone knows what that would look like (hint: jab, teep, shoulder roll). Worse still, a Strickland victory almost demands a trilogy match up.
This retread is poorly timed, and it’s not worth 80 bucks with just a single good supporting fight. The rest of the card is genuinely Apex quality, worse than last week’s free event by a fair margin. Somehow, we’ve arrived a point in which this UFC PPV has become just like the typical boxing event stacked entirely around the top two fights … and they’re not even the best two bookings available! I feel bad for the Sydney fight fans who so rarely get the chance to see a live UFC event in their hemisphere.
No wonder there’s a piracy problem.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 312 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN2/Disney+/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 312: “du Plessis vs. Strickland 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.