UFC 312: Dricus du Plessis Gears Up for Title Defence Against Sean Strickland

Date: Sunday, Feb 9 / 5:00 AM SAST / Main Card
Venue: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW, Australia

The first South African UFC champion will fight Sean Strickland in a rematch in the main event of UFC 312 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on February 9.

The pair first faced off in January at UFC 297 in Vancouver, Canada, where Du Plessis dethroned the American by split decision. “Stillknocks” cemented himself as the 185-pound king when he became the first man to submit former two-time champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, in August.

Strickland, meanwhile, consolidated his position as the number one contender with a decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June.

Many, Du Plessis included, had hoped the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev had done enough to leapfrog Strickland to a title fight with his gnarly submission win over ex-champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 in October. However, the baddest man in Mzansi will first have to conclude his rivalry with “Tarzan.”

UFC president Dana White has promised that the world’s preeminent mixed martial arts promotion will host its first-ever event on African soil in South Africa. However, with no suitable arenas in the country and the UFC not being fond of holding stadium shows, the time has come and gone for Du Plessis’ next fight to be at home.

The city of Cape Town is reportedly willing to put a temporary roof on DHL Stadium, at a cost of R30 million, to make it the host of the historic event, but nothing has come of the proposal yet, leading to Du Plessis having to defend his title Down Under once again.

It was also announced that a second title fight will serve as the co-headliner of UFC 312 with strawweight queen Zhang Weili putting her belt on the line against Tatiana Suarez.

Zhang started her second reign as 115-pound champion with a decision win over fellow Chinese star Yan Xiaonan in her last fight at UFC 300 in April.

Suarez is undefeated in her 10-fight pro career and most recently submitted former champion Jessica Andrade last August.