UFC 312 Results: Dricus du Plessis And Zhang Weili Retain Titles After Dominant Decision Wins in Sydney

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship staged it's second numbered event of 2025 with two champions making successful title defences in the headliner of UFC 312: Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 event, which took place at a sold out Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Sunday (February 9).

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili successfully defended their belts in five-round wars on top of a card that was punctuated by incredible knock outs.

On a long day, 9 of 12 fights, including the headliners, went the distance, while 3 fights ended in either submission or stoppages as four fighters took home bonuses worth USD50K. Here is a look at the awards followed by recap from UFC 312:

UFC 312 Awards

• Fight of the Night: Rongzhu vs Kody Steele
• Performance of the Night: Tallison Teixeira
• Performance of the Night: Quilland Salkilld

UFC 312 Recap

A rematch for the UFC middleweight title between champion Dricus du Plessis and No. 1 ranked Sean Strickland was indeed a replay of their first meeting, a clash of striking styles in the main event.

Du Plessis broke the nose of Strickland in the mid-point of the fight, and the injury staved off any chance of a comeback. The champ ramped up his strikes in frequency, but Strickland's excellent defence held off any chance of a finish. Du Plessis remained the UFC middleweight champion with a unanimous decision.

Following the title defence, Du Plessis said, "I gave it my all, I'm sorry I couldn't get him out of there. Sean is an absolute animal, he's deserving of all the hype."

The champion then spoke about his next challenger adding, "This is another quote from Achilles: 'Is there no one else?!' This was a big proving point for me. I'm the top three pound for pound fighter as of tonight, and I'm coming for number one."

In the co-main event, UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili brought a well-rounded skillset into her third title defence against No.1 ranked Tatiana Suarez, a world-class wrestler. Suarez made her intentions clear by getting top position in the first round but Zhang was able to reverse and land shots from the top.

It was Zhang who got the takedowns and dominant ground and pound in the second and third, landing huge shots and defending all of Suarez' shoots. The championships were all Zhang, with takedowns, ground control and punches from bell to bell.

Retaining her belt by unanimous decision, Zhang said, "I was well prepared for this fight, and I have the world's best coaches. I respect Tatiana. She came in here and stood up with me. I was the underdog, but it's okay. I don't care. I just keep going and just focus on myself. Do my best!"

Also on the main card, Tallison Teixeira finished Justin Tafa in the first round of a heavyweight bout after light heavyweights Jimmy Crute and Rodolfo Bellato fought to a majority draw. Meanwhile, Jake Matthews dominated Francisco Prado over three rounds to earn a decision win in the main card opener.

On the under card, Wang Cong demonstrated an improved, measured gameplan against Bruna Brasil to bounce back from her only MMA loss which came against Gabriella Fernandes in November 2024 at UFC Macau.

While Brasil looked sharp and landed damaging calf kicks in round one, Wang kept calm and technical, and amped up her combinations through the second and third. Proving that she has power and poise, Wang handily won the unanimous decision.

The fight of the night recipients Rongzhu and debutant Kody Steele put on an absolute barnburner to the delight of the fans with the former edging the fight on the judges scorecard on the early preliminary which opened with a bang when newcomer Quillan Salkilld finished Anshul Jubli in just 19 seconds.

Gabriel Santos claimed the only other stoppage win on the card, submitting Jack Jenkins in a featherweight bout, while Tom Nolan, Jonathan Micallef and Aleksandre Topuria earned decision wins on the preliminary card. Here is a look at the final results of UFC 312:

UFC 312 Results

Main Card

• Middleweight World Championship Bout: Dricus Du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
• Women’s Strawweight World Championship Bout: Zhang Weili defeated Tatiana Suarez by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)
• Heavyweight Bout: Tallison Teixeira defeated Justin Tafa by TKO (strikes) at 0:35 of Round 1
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Jimmy Crute and Rodolfo Bellato fight to a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
• Welterweight Bout: Jake Matthews defeated Francisco Prado by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

• Featherweight Bout: Gabriel Santos defeated Jack Jenkins by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:06 of Round 3
• Lightweight Bout: Tom Nolan defeated Viacheslav Borshchev by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Women's Flyweight Bout: Wang Cong defeated Bruna Brasil by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Bantamweight Bout: Aleksandre Topuria defeated Colby Thicknesse by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Early Preliminary Card

• Lightweight Bout: Rongzhu defeated Kody Steele by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Welterweight Bout: Jonathan Micallef defeated Kevin Jousset by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Lightweight Bout: Quilland Salkilld defeated Anshul Jubli by KO (right hand) at 0:19 of Round 1