UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia this February is bringing a strong 1-2 punch atop the Pay-Per-View card.
In the main event, middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis (22-2) will look to defend his title in a rematch with Sean Strickland (29-6), while in the night's co-headliner, Weili Zhang (25-3) is set to put her strawweight gold on the line opposite Tatiana Suarez (10-0).
Both title fights were announced during Saturday's UFC 310 broadcast.
Du Plessis and Strickland first met at UFC 297 in Toronto, Canada back in January, where Strickland was looking to make his first title defense. The fight did not go his way, however, with judges awarding Du Plessis the split decision victory. Since then, Strickland bounced back with a split decision win of his own, defeating Paulo Costa at UFC 302.
Despite the return of Khamzat Chimaev in a dominant performance earlier this year, Strickland has been given the nod for the title shot, perhaps based as much on timing and the existing rivalry with the champ as anything else. Du Plessis vs. Strickland I at times got ugly in the lead-up to the fight, with South Africa's Du Plessis making comments about Strickland's abusive father.
"Stillknocks," as Du Plessis is otherwise known, is coming off a submission win against former middleweight champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. The former KSW title holder boasts wins over Robert Whittaker, Darren Till, Derek Brunson, and Roberto Soldic, among others.
China's Weili Zhang is in her second reign as the UFC women's strawweight champion, and has defended her title twice this time around. Most recently, she earned a unanimous decision over fellow Chinese standout Yan Xiaonan at the historic UFC 300 in April.
Suarez, now 33, won The Ultimate Fighter 23 in 2016, but has fought just six times since. Injury has plagued Suarez; she wound up withdrawing from fights with Amanda Lemos and Virna Jandiroba this year, leaving her most recent fight as an August 2023 submission of Jessica Andrade.
UFC 312 takes place on February 8 (Feb. 9 locally), 2025 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.