Dricus Du Plessis was determined to avoid any uncertainties in his rematch with Sean Strickland at UFC 312 held in Sydney. Having suffered a split decision loss to Strickland over a year ago, Du Plessis ensured clarity this time by claiming a dominant unanimous decision victory, thereby retaining his middleweight championship title.
“I wanted to make a statement today, but I don’t plan on making a habit of relying on judges,” Du Plessis expressed after the fight. He noted that the key to his performance was to remain composed, with guidance from his coach to control his emotions, especially after seeing Strickland injuring his nose.
The match marked Du Plessis’s second successful title defense, coming on the heels of his impressive fourth-round submission victory over Israel Adesanya on August 17 in Perth.
In the opening round, Strickland focused on establishing his jab, while Du Plessis aggressively utilized a diverse range of kicking techniques. As the second round progressed, Strickland adopted a more careful strategy, looking for openings. However, Du Plessis clearly outperformed him in terms of significant strikes, landing 28 to Strickland’s 17.
The third round failed to thrill the crowd, receiving more boos than cheers due to a lack of engaging action until Du Plessis connected with an overhand right followed by a spinning back fist. The fourth round turned out to be the most action-packed, with Du Plessis landing a powerful right punch that broke Strickland’s nose, piling on relentless pressure. Although the earlier rounds were tightly contested, Du Plessis’s dominance in the fourth was evident.
During the final round, Du Plessis maintained his aggressive approach, continuing to target Strickland’s wounded nose to seal the victory decisively.
In the co-main event, women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili faced a challenging first round but managed to control most of the match against the number one contender, Tatiana Suarez. Zhang emerged victorious through a unanimous decision, successfully defending her title for the fourth time, with three of those wins coming by unanimous decision and one by submission in the second round.
Among the highlights from the undercard, heavyweight Tallison Teixeira made a stunning UFC debut, scoring a first-round TKO against Justin Tafa in just 35 seconds, marking his eighth consecutive bout to end in the first round.
In a thrilling light heavyweight clash, Jim Crute and Rodolfo Bellato both showcased their skills, with Crute taking the first round and Bellato bouncing back in the second. The closely contested third round resulted in a majority draw from the judges.
Jake Matthews secured a victory in the welterweight division by defeating Francisco Prado via unanimous decision after three rounds of action.
