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Mixed martial arts | Tuesday, February 4, 2025 11:05 AM

UFC 312 Preview - Fight Card Breakdown and Matchup Analysis

UFC 312 Preview - Fight Card Breakdown and Matchup Analysis
Zuma Press / Alamy Stock Photo: Sean Strickland, left, fights Dricus Du Plessis during a middleweight title bout

The UFC goes back Down Under for their newest PPV event – UFC 312. The fight card will feature two title fights with the main fight being a rematch between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland. There is bad blood between the two after the first showdown. Strickland still thinks that he won the first fight, making the rematch a chance to perhaps put the tale to rest.

On the other hand, Weilli Zhang will be defending her Women’s Strawweight strap for the third time in a row. The rest of the card is a bit thinner than we are used to. But it does feature a lot of local talent that may just surprise us. Let’s go head-deep into our breakdown of the fight card. 

Main Fight: Dricus Du Plessis vs Sean Strickland 

The main fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland is what essentially holds this fight card together. Their first clash when Du Plessis won the Middleweight title was a close one. It ended up going to a decision with both fighters gassed but having their moments.

Many people believed that the volume of strikes thrown by Stickland was enough to win him the fight. We believe that this is the only method to victory for him in the rematch. Stillknocks is capable of absorbing an enormous amount of punches and still being able to push on. Furthermore, he can wrestle and arguably has a better ground game than Strickland.

However, Tarzan is the one with a bigger gass tank. The longer the fight takes the better it is for Strickland. Du Plessis is durable enough to go the distance, but the question lies if he has it enough in him to defend and pressure Sean at the same time. The best way for Dricus to win would be in the early stages of the fight, which is where he is the most dangerous.

Either way, I would say that Du Plessis takes this one and defends his strap. Strickland was able to shock the world when he won the belt versus Adesanya, but this is a whole different ball game.


Co-Main: Weili Zhang vs Tatiana Suarez  

Weili Zhang is undoubtedly one of the most durable women’s athletes in MMA. She is a two-time Strawweight champion and is now on a four-fight win streak, including two title defences. However, while two of her last opponents, including Amanda Lemos and Xiaonan Yan were strikers, now she is going up against a wrestler.

Weili has already shown that she has the capability to go up against high-level grapplers. It is where she won her belt back after submitting Carla Esparza, one of the best women’s grapplers in the UFC. But most believe that Tatiana Suarez is on an entirely new level when it comes to wrestling.

A winner of the Ultimate Fighter Season 23 series, Tatiana has been more than dominant in her MMA career. Thanks to her Olympic-level wrestling, she is undefeated in her career at 10-0. However, Due to injuries, she was not able to compete regularly, with her last fight being in August 2023.

Weili is the champion and has shown that she is versatile enough to both stand on the feet and bang or take the fight to the ground. But can she really withstand what is to come if Suarez is on point?

While I truly believe that Weili Zhang is a dominant champion, I would perhaps somewhat controversially give the nod to Tatiana Suarez in this one. 


The Rest of the Main Card

While the rest of the card may include some hidden gems when it comes to fights, we definitely can’t really say that it is as exciting as the two main fights. Justin Tafa going up against the undefeated Tallison Teixeira should produce sparks. I just hope we don’t get to see another slow Heavyweithg fight like we did recently between Pavlovich and Rozenstruik.

Jimmy The Brute Crute is in a 3-0-1 in his last four outings and will be fighting for his job against Rodolfo Bellato. Bellato is another prospect from the Contender Series who made his spectacular debut in the UFC by TKO-ing Ihor Potieria. He is an interesting prospect in the Light Heavyweight division and has a chance to show his worth in this fight.

Finally, the show starts with the home town hero, the Celtic Kid, Jake Matthews going up against Francisco Prado. This could be a sleeper fight. Both fighters have a knack to stand and bang and you never know where one of those punches could end up. It is a stellar way to get the card going, especially if the two produce as promised.

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