On September 10, 2023, Sean Strickland shocked the world.
The UFC star didn’t just pull off a huge victory. He cemented his status as a top middleweight fighter by getting a decisive win over Israel Adesanya. He won the UFC Middleweight title that night, but Strickland’s reign wouldn’t last long thanks to the current champion, Dricus Du Plessis.
Sean Strickland was able to bounce back by beating Paulo Costa at UFC 302 and hopes to avenge his UFC 297 loss. He comes in with a record of 29 wins and 6 losses.
Unfortunately, it’ll be an uphill battle as Plessis hasn’t lost a fight in seven years. The UFC Middleweight Champion has beaten Robert Whittaker, Darren Till, and most recently, Israel Adesanya. The 31-year-old is in his prime and has yet to lose a fight within the UFC. Plessis' record currently stands at 22 wins and 2 losses.
In the co-main event, UFC Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili will defend her belt for the third time under her current run. Weilli is on a hot streak as she’s won her last four fights, with two of those wins coming by submission and KO. Weilli’s record currently stands at 25 wins and 3 losses.
Her opponent comes in undefeated. Tatiana Suarez’s impressive win over former UFC Strawweight Champion Jessica Andrade earned her the opportunity to challenge Weilli for the belt. Since joining the UFC in 2016, Suarez has gotten six wins, with five of them ending via submission or TKO. Suarez’s record currently stands at 10 wins and 0 losses.
Check out the full line-up for UFC 312 below:
UFC 312 Main Event on ESPN+ PPV:
UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland
UFC 312 Main Card on ESPN+ PPV (10 p.m. ET):
UFC Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez
Justin Tafa vs. Tallison Teixeira
Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato
Jake Matthews vs. Francisco Prado
UFC 312 Prelims Card on ESPN2/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):
Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos
Cody Haddon vs. Aleksandre Topuria
Tom Nolan vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
Hyun Sung Park vs. N. Tumendemberel
UFC 312 Early Prelims Card on ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET):
Quillan Salkilld vs. Anshul Jubli
Wang Cong vs. Bruna Brasil
Jonathan Micallef vs. Kevin Jousset
Kody Steele vs. Rongzhu