The UFC returns to Australia this weekend with the UFC 312 pay-per-view event taking place at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. The card features a middleweight title rematch as current champion Dricus Du Plessis faces former champion Sean Strickland.
The co-main event is another title fight as women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang looks for another title defense against the undefeated Tatian Suarez.
While not the big Super Bowl type of cards we are used to coinciding with the big football game, it is a solid card for locals and presents some good betting opportunities.
UFC 312 Prelim Card
The action kicks off with a flyweight encounter between Park Hyun-sung and Nyamjargal Tumendemberel. Expect South Korean Park to maintain his undefeated record in this one.
Quillan Salkilld battles Anshul Jubli in a lightweight meeting. The Australian will give the fans some early cheers as Salkilld is a huge favorite and should make Jubli go 0-2 in the UFC.
Jonathan Micallef takes on Kevin Jousset in a welterweight tilt. Jousset’s slight experience advantage should give him the edge in this encounter.
Zhu Rong clashes with Kody Steele in a lightweight bout. Despite lacking his opponent’s experience, Steele is expected to remain undefeated.
Colby Thicknesse steps in on short notice to face the debuting Aleksandre Topuria. Topuria, the brother of featherweight champion Ilia, however, is likely to come out on top. The big twist in this matchup is that Alexander Volkanovski will be in the corner of the Australian prospect and former and potentially future opponent Topuria will be in his brothers corner.
Wang Cong looks to return to the win column against Bruna Brasil in a women’s flyweight matchup. Oddsmakers see her doing just that as she is a massive favorite against the Brazilian.
Tom Nolan takes on Russian Viacheslav Borshchev in a lightweight encounter. It should be a competitive affair with Borschev just about edging it over the local.
Jack Jenkins battles Gabriel Santos in a featherweight tilt. Expect Santos to emerge victorious in this fight to calm the Australian fans ahead of the main card.
UFC 312 Main Card
Matthews (20-7) vs Prado (12-2)
Jake Matthews looks to defend home soil against Francisco Prado in a welterweight matchup kicking off the card. Matthews is coming off a decision win over Philip Rowe in June. However, the Aussie hasn't enjoyed a winning streak since 2020, having alternated between wins and losses since. Overall, he has won six of his last nine fights.
Prado, meanwhile, will be looking to return to the win column. The Argentine last suffered defeat against Daniel Zellhuber in February. Prior to that, he TKO'd Ottman Azaitar. Overall, Prado is 1-2 in the UFC. Unfortunately for him, Matthews has more tools and experience under his belt. With the added home field advantage, this should be a win for the Aussie to bring back some of his hype.
Crute (12-4-1) vs Bellato (12-2)
Jimmy Crute is another looking to return to the win column as he takes on Rodolfo Bellato in a light heavyweight encounter. Crute is currently winless in his last four fights with three defeats via finish and a draw with Alonzo Menifield. Prior to those setbacks, Crute was 4-1 in the UFC but has not won a fight since 2020.
Bellato, meanwhile, is on a four-fight winning streak, having enjoyed a UFC debut win with a TKO finish over Ihor Potieria in December 2023. With seven wins in his last eight fights overall, the Brazilian is favored to get the better of Crute in what should be a competitive fight.
Tafa (7-4, 1NC) vs Teixeira (7-0)
Heavyweights are also in action as Justin Tafa clashes with Tallison Teixeira. Tafa is coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Karl Williams back in March. It snapped a four-fight unbeaten run that saw him knock out Harry Hunsucker, Parker Porter and Austen Lane. Overall, the New Zealander has won four of his nine fights in the UFC.
Teixeira, meanwhile, is making his UFC debut as an undefeated prospect. He is 7-0 with all his wins coming by way of finish, including six knockouts. Given that it’s a heavyweight fight, anything can happen; however, Teixeira is favored to come out on top and maintain his perfect record.
Zhang (25-3) vs Suarez (10-0)
The co-main event sees Weili Zhang defend her 125-pound title against Tatiana Suarez. Zhang will be looking for her third title defense in her second reign after outpointing Yan Xiaonan at UFC 300 back in April. Prior to that, the Chinese fighter defeated Amanda Lemos via unanimous decision. Overall, Zhang is on a four-fight winning streak and has won nine of her 11 fights in the UFC.
Suarez, on the other hand, will be looking to become a champion for the first time with her long-awaited title shot. Injury problems have caused issues for Suarez with her last victory coming against former champion Jessica Andrade in August 2023. While she is undefeated with a 10-0 record, she has only fought twice since 2019.
ll that said, the American is a slight favorite over Zhang which only speaks to her dominant wrestling and submission ability. Zhang is not one to get outmuscled and is one of the most well-rounded female fighters. However, if she is unable to defend Suarez’s takedowns, we could be in store for a new strawweight queen.
du Plessis (22-2) vs Strickland (29-6)
The headliner sees Dricus du Plessis battle Sean Strickland once again for the middleweight title. Du Plessis is undefeated in the UFC and became the middleweight king after defeating Strickland in January last year with a close split decision win. The South African would go on to earn his first title defense after submitting former champion Israel Adesanya in August. Overall, DDP is 8-0 in the UFC with a resume that also includes finishes over Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Darren Till.
Strickland bounced back from his defeat to Du Plessis with a split decision win over Paulo Costa in June, although it was a dominant performance that should have been a unanimous verdict. Like Du Plessis, the American also defeated Adesanya by outpointing him to become a champion. He, as well as many fans and Dana White, believe he deserved to win on the scorecards against Du Plessis and this rematch will be a chance for either men to score a definitive victory this time around.
Like the first fight, we should expect a standup battle with Du Plessis mixing things up by taking the fight to the ground. However, Strickland has shown he has strong takedown defense and is very hard to keep down. The challenger’s lack of knockout power could be his downfall though, as Strickland usually pressures and wears out his opponents without really finishing them.
Du Plessis fared much better than others and with a decisive win over Adesanya since their first meeting, should be even more confident. Oddsmakers are confident that this will be another victory for Du Plessis and I see it the same way with the champ keeping his title after a 25 minute battle.
