The UFC returns to Australia for 2025 as Dricus Du Plessis defends his middleweight championship for a second time in a rematch with rival Sean Strickland at UFC 312.
The two fighters met in January 2024 in one of the best fights of the year, with the South African claiming the belt in a five-round war at the end of a very personal back-and-forth over several months.
We'll take a look at the main event and provide you with our best free UFC picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while watching an incredible fight card.
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UFC 312 information
- Saturday, February 8th 2025
- Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia
- Middleweight championship fight (185-pound limit)
- 5 x 5 minute rounds
- Main card starts at 22:00 ET
Dricus Du Plessis vs Sean Strickland 2
A big clash of styles awaits us in Sydney this weekend as two of the most awkward fighters go head-to-head for the second time in a year in a title fight.
Champion Du Plessis comes into this fight as an undefeated fighter in the organisation, with a professional record of 22-2 with nine knockouts and 11 submission wins, including an 8-0 run in the UFC.
With his last defeat coming in 2018 as he lost the KSW Welterweight championship to Roberto Soldic, Du Plessis defeated Joilton Santos and Brendan Lesar to punch his ticket to the UFC and become the undisputed champion at 185-pounds.
Du Plessis won his debut with a stunning first-round knockout over Markus Perez, before another stoppage win over Trevin Giles followed. A unanimous decision win over Brad Tavares came next, before his first submission win in the UFC with a neck crank against former welterweight title challenger Darren Till.
He then earned a TKO win over Derek Brunson before a sensational knockout of former world champion Robert Whittaker earned him a title shot.
There he claimed a close decision win over Strickland to become champion, before he sensationally submitted Israel Adesanya in his first defence last time out with a fourth-round rear naked choke.
Challenger Strickland comes into this fight on the back of four wins in his last five fights, and he is hyped for revenge. He earned a knockout win over Nordine Taleb back in October 2018 before a motorcycle accident saw him on the shelf for two years.
He returned and went on a stunning five-fight win streak though, defeating Jack Marshman, Brendan Allen, Krzysztof Jotko, Uriah Hall and Jack Hermansson to put himself into title contention. At that point, he came up against the phenomenal Alex Pereira in a title eliminator fight, with the Brazilian knocking him unconscious in the opening round.
Strickland then suffered a split decision loss to Jarred Cannonier in his next bout, but has since recovered to earn wins over Nassourdine Imavov and Abusupiyan Magomedov which earned him his first title fight, where he shocked the world with a dominant unanimous decision win over long-time champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in Australia to win the title.
He then took on Du Plessis and suffered defeat in his first defense, but earned a rematch with the champion by earning a decision win over Paulo Costa in his last outing.
He has a professional record of 29-6 with 11 knockout wins and four submission victories.
All eyes on the rematch 👀
— UFC (@ufc) February 3, 2025
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Route to victory
Both of these fighters are considered to be among the most awkward to fight because of their styles, and it made for incredible viewing the first time around.
Strickland approaches almost every fight the same way, regardless of opponent. He walks forward with a Philly-shell guard style and uses a stiff jab, alongside teep kicks and insane pressure to overwhelm his opponents.
Du Plessis on the other hand mixes things up far more regularly with excellent grappling ability and some vicious knockout power too, while his cardio is also a big weapon of his that he looks to use on his opponents.
When it comes to grappling both Strickland and Du Plessis are well-versed, and Strickland has got some of the best takedown defense in the entire middleweight division, while the champion prides himself on being able to dominate where the fight goes.
Both fighters love to use cardio as a weapon and will push forward regardless of what is coming back at them in the opposite direction.
When it comes to power the South African has a big advantage, although both fighters are aware that they can take the other's best shot now after their first meeting.
"Stillknocks" will look to mix things up the same way he did against Adesanya and if he gets into a favorable position on the ground then expect him to take full advantage, while Strickland will do all he can to force him backwards and land his boxing combinations.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
UFC picks: Du Plessis to retain @ -200
Strickland has a style that makes it hard to pick him to win fights like this, but it also gives him the best chance of winning these types of fights.
Defensively he is incredibly safe and he has the wrestling skills to cause most people problems, but he simply refuses to use them in that way and instead prefers to stand and go to war with his ego.
That is likely to cost him big time in this fight, because Du Plessis is very much from the school of win by any means necessary. With his power advantage on the feet and his willingness to mix in his wrestling offensively, and that means this is likely to go the same way as their first meeting - albeit potentially more emphatically.
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
