While the UFC 312 main event itself didn’t exactly deliver fireworks, color commentator Joe Rogan was extremely impressed by how middleweight kingpin Dricus Du Plessis controlled it.
After narrowly dethroning the polarizing American by way of split decision 13 months ago, the South African champ put a stamp on his superiority over “Tarzan” second time around.
During his JRE Fight Companion episode for UFC 312, Rogan reacted to Du Plessis’ dominant five-round decision victory over the former titleholder, who was left with a badly broken nose.
“DDP fought really well, man,” Rogan said. “It was that big right hand that changed everything. … Dricus Du Plessis, ladies and gentlemen. He’s a tough puzzle to figure out. A very tough fight to figure out.
“He’s a big f***** for 185 pounds too. That’s a big f*****,” Rogan continued. “He did a really good job of setting up, throwing that low kick, switch kick to the body, and kept that pace up for the entire five (rounds). He keeps getting better.”
While Strickland goes back to the drawing board after being pushed out of the title conversation following two defeats to Du Plessis in his last three fights, “Stillknocks” has a ready list of challengers vying for a shot at his gold.
UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili was not pleased to see one fighter’s outing at Saturday’s pay-per-view brought to a controversial end after just 19 seconds.
Kicking off proceedings was a debuting local favorite in Quillan Salkilld, who needed just one strike to finish Anshul Jubli and announce his arrival on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage.
Jubli furiously protested the result, and his claim of an early stoppage has been backed by plenty in the community. That includes one prominent peer in Dvalishvili, who slammed the referee’s intervention in a post on X.
Work so hard in training camp and gets an early stoppage … hate this ! #UFC312
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) February 9, 2025
“Work so hard in training camp and gets an early stoppage … hate this ! #UFC312“
Dvalishvili frequently calls out stoppages he perceives to be early, having seen firsthand the effects of controversial finishes back in 2023 when teammate Aljamain Sterling was unseated from the bantamweight throne by Sean O’Malley.
Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland ran it back in Saturday’s UFC 312 headliner, and it’s safe to say the rematch didn’t thrill the MMA masses.
The pair’s second dance went down this weekend in Sydney, Australia, 13 months on from Du Plessis securing a narrow split decision to capture the middleweight crown.
As is often the case, “Tarzan” promised fans a war on fight night but failed to deliver, with his approach even garnering boos from the crowd in attendance at some points in the fight.
And it was far from just the locals in the arena who were bemused by how the fight played out at UFC 312. Among the critics online were a pair of top 185-pound contenders vying to compete for the gold next — Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov.
With all respect, I’m ripping off your champ. I’m already ready. Anytime @danawhite@Mickmaynard2
Many believed Chimaev was deserving of the first shot at Du Plessis in 2025. While “Tarzan” got the better of Paulo Costa in a lackluster 15-minute contest last June, “Borz” emphatically submitted Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi four months later.
Following his unanimous decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312 in Sydney, Sean Strickland took to Instagram to reflect on the fight and give credit to the reigning middleweight champion.
In his first public statement since the bout, Strickland detailed the significant damage to his nose, which he admitted played a role in the fight’s outcome. He revealed that his nose was broken in six places but remained optimistic about the injury.
“Dricus, f*cking hat’s off,” Strickland said in a video on his Instagram account. “Hell of a fight. Broke my nose in like six places. Silver lining — my nose is so broken it’s easy to reset. That was a new experience.”
Despite previously feeling “robbed” in their first encounter at UFC 297, which Du Plessis won by split decision, Strickland took a more positive approach to this loss. He found satisfaction in pushing through adversity and acknowledged that others face far greater struggles in life.
“I’m good. Losing sucks, but we all lose in life,” Strickland said. “I talk to so many people that lose their job, their girlfriend breaks up with them, and they just find themselves in this hole. I love the misery. I love the suffering because when you’re miserable, when you’re in pain and suffering — the moment that’s gone, and it will end—there will be a new day and a better day. Life’s good.”
The first fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland was a close battle that could have fallen either way, ending in a controversial decision for the South African despite UFC CEO Dana White feeling “Tarzan” won the fight. But the rematch between the two was not close at all.
Du Plessis took complete control in a lackluster, dominant decision win over Strickland to retain the UFC middleweight championship in the main event of UFC 312.
The opening round saw both men delivering single shots. Despite previous acknowledgement about the risks of close rounds, Strickland tried to use his jab for a lead, but the champ kept distance and strategically landed whenever he saw an opening.
The American landed some strong strikes early in the second round, but “Stillknocks” completely took over the output of that frame from there, seemingly putting the former champion in an early 2-0 hole.
The defending champion continued to take advantage of a lack of activity from the former one during round three. The big moment of the fight, however, happened in the middle of the fourth round when a right hand from Du Plessis connected harshly, breaking Strickland’s nose. Blood poured out as the challenger looked to up his power to get back into the fight.
In spite of nearly getting caught in a guillotine during an unadvised rush in, Du Plessis stayed the course and landed from distance, with his output far exceeding Strickland’s.
The South African nearly swept the scorecards, with two 50-45s and a 49-46 in his favor to keep the gold.
Dricus Du Plessis Retains In Dominant Outing Over Sean Strickland
I thought Strickland said he was going to war. #UFC312
Dricus du Plessis with a championship effort. A rare non-finish for him, but Strickland is proven durable. What a run at middleweight it's been for DDP.
Du Plessis won the middleweight title in the original fight with Strickland last year at UFC 297 and retained the gold with a submission of Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.
Strickland, meanwhile, defeated Paulo Costa at UFC 302. He had won the middleweight title in upset fashion when he defeated Adesanya at UFC 293 in September 2023.
The UFC 312 pay-per-view recently concluded, and MMA News has you covered with the post-fight press conference in Sydney.
The Qudos Bank Arena played host to Octagon action on tonight, as the mixed martial arts leader continued its PPV schedule for 2025 with a lineup that featured two championships and a host of local names.
Of note were victories for Dricus Du Plessis, Zhang Weili, Jake Matthews and Tallison Teixeira.
And before attention turns to UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Rodrigues at the Apex next weekend, there remains some business to attend to backstage at UFC 312.
Shortly after the main event’s ending, Dana White will appear in front of the media to reveal the recipients of the Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses before answering questions. The victorious fighters from UFC 312 will also take queries from the press in reaction to their performances.
With that said, see below for a live stream of the UFC 312 post-fight press conference via the UFC’s official YouTube channel, commencing at 1:15 AM ET.
Despite coming into the bout as the betting underdog for the first time as a champion, Zhang Weili was able to dominate Tatiana Suarez in a five-round decision to end the challenger’s undefeated streak and retain the UFC women’s strawweight title in the UFC 312 co-main event.
Suarez easily took control of the fight in the opening minute, scoring a takedown. The American did not land shots but remained on top without much trouble. Suarez even looked for a guillotine, but she was unable to complete the choke.
Zhang was more than ready entering round two, however. She prevented a takedown and managed to drop right into mount. With the two practically against the fence in one way or another for quite a bit of the round, the defending champion landed plenty of shots from top control.
“Magnum” scored a couple of noteworthy strikes in the third round, including a right hand that clearly rocked Suarez. The champ continued to stop the takedown attempts from the challenger, displaying complete control of the action.
Zhang Weili Retains Strawweight Title, Hands Tatiana Suarez First Loss
“Magnum” continued this pace over the course of the next two rounds, stopping any attempts from Suarez to get back into the fight and dominating more in top control.
The judges ultimately scored the bout in the champ’s favor, with two 49-46s and a 49-45.
Zhang has now won five straight, including successful defenses against Amanda Lemos and Yan Xiaonan in her second reign as UFC strawweight champion. She now ties Joanna Jedrzejczyk with six successful defenses of the 115-pound title.
With her dominant victory tonight, some now wonder if “Magnum” will be booked for a superfight against flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko in the near future.
Meanwhile, this was Suarez’s first fight since her August 2023 win over Jessica Andrade.
Brandon Moreno is heading back to Mexico City, where he will take on Steve Erceg in the main event.
MMA Mania (following initial posts from Kevin K on X) reported that the UFC had put together a new headliner for their rematch to Arena CDMZ on March 29, with the former two-time flyweight champion topping the bill.
The UFC officially confirmed the booking during Saturday’s UFC 312 pay-per-view broadcast.
Moreno previously fought in Mexico City last February where he suffered a split decision loss to Brandon Royval before deciding to take some long overdue time off. He returned in Edmonton last November where “The Assassin Baby” looked back to his best, convincingly beating Amir Albazi to bring his opponent’s winning streak to an end.
Whilst the Tijuana born contender is sure to receive another incredible reception from his home fans, March 29 is a huge opportunity for his opponent. Erceg currently finds himself coming off of back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.
“Astroboy” was catapulted into a flyweight title shot off the back of a three-fight winning streak inside the Octagon and though he put on a good performance against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301, he was unable to leave Brazil with the gold. Erceg’s attempt to bounce back in front of his home crowd in Perth came to a sudden halt when he was stopped by Kai Kara-France in the first round at UFC 305 in August.
The 29-year old was originally booked to take on the #8-ranked Asu Almabayev on March 1 until the promotion seemingly changed their plans around in order to book a fitting main event for the Mexican fans. Rather than fighting an opponent that was one spot above him in the rankings, Erceg will now take on the #2-ranked contender.
Israel Adesanya’s recently gone on a rough patch in his MMA venture, including his knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov last week. But in a moment of lightness, he will be honored for putting on one of the greatest bouts in Octagon history as part of this year’s UFC Hall of Fame class.
Adesanya’s interim middleweight title fight with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 will be inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame this summer during International Fight Week, the promotion announced during the UFC 312 pay-per-view.
The two put on an absolute war at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA, on that April 2019 night, with UFC CEO Dana White claiming in the immediate aftermath that it was one of the greatest fights he’s ever seen in his life.
Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum Announced For UFC Hall of Fame Class Of 2025
The fight was a back-and-forth affair, with plenty of moments from both men. Gastelum took many people by surprise when he rocked Adesanya with a head kick late in the fight. Adesanya, however, locked in and did plenty of damage during the final round, nearly prompting referee Marc Goddard to step in.
Adesanya ultimately won the interim title on a unanimous decision before going on to defeat Robert Whittaker later that year at UFC 243 to become undisputed UFC middleweight champion.
The fight joins The Ultimate Fighter Executive Producer Craig Piligian as the inductees announced thus far for the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2025. More inductees are expected to be announced at the next couple of UFC pay-per-view events.
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have waged war plenty of times with one another between their time in kickboxing and MMA. But at UFC 312 in Australia, the longtime rivals appeared to be at peace, as the pair were sitting next to each other audience.
After images emerged of the two stars seated together, a video showed Pereira flipping the camera to Adesanya, with the fellow former UFC middleweight champion calmly exclaiming, “Chama” — the catchphrase of the current UFC light heavyweight king.
Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira Seated Next To One Another During UFC 312
Adesanya and Pereira fought twice in kickboxing. Pereira won both fights, once via decision and the other via knockout.
Pereira, who went on to win championships in GLORY Kickboxing, transitioned over to MMA full time and fought Adesanya twice there. Their first meeting came at UFC 281 in November 2022, with Pereira scoring a comeback fifth-round finish to win the UFC middleweight championship.
Adesanya finally scored a win and regained the title when he went on to knock out Pereira at UFC 287 five months later.
Their careers have gone in opposite directions since. Pereira has become the champion at 205 pounds, defeating the likes of Jiří Procházka, Jamahal Hill, and Khalil Rountree. “The Last Stylebender,” meanwhile, dropped the middleweight title in upset fashion to Sean Strickland, failed to regain the belt against Dricus Du Plessis, and was knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov last week at UFC Saudi Arabia.
Though the jury may still be out on him, Aleksandre Topuria, the brother of UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria, undoubtedly scored a victory in his Octagon debut, defeating Colby Thicknesse during the preliminary card of UFC 312 in Australia.
The Spaniard and his Australian foe traded plenty of strikes to start things off, with the former also shaking off a pair of takedown attempts in the fight’s opening minute.
Late in the first, Topuria rocked Thicknesse with a right hand, with the latter going down to the mat. In spite of “El Conquistador” taking his back, Thicknesse was able to get back to his feet and got away from his grasp. Topuria, however, managed to land one nasty-looking suplex in the round’s closing seconds.
Thicknesse picked up the pacing and volume of his striking in the second round. The Spanish newcomer, however, maintained his stalking, pressure-based approach en route to another strong performance.
By the middle of the third round, Topuria had stuffed eight of Thicknesse’s takedown attempts before “El Conquistador” took the fight to the ground himself. Ilia’s brother rode out about half of the final round in top position, controlling the position and stopping any desperation submission attempts from Thicknesse.
Aleksandre Topuria, Ilia’s Brother, Wins UFC Debut At UFC 312
Thoughts on Topuria (the brother)
Lacks killer instinct and volume Well rounded Able to prove he could go 3 rounds (cardio questions) Not the same power as his brother
Will be a good fighter in the UFC but never close to his brother’s level. #UFC312
The Spanish debutant went 2-1 in fights during 2015 before taking years off, helping Ilia out with his MMA journey. He competed three times between December 2021 and May 2023, winning all three fights, before making his UFC debut tonight.
Thicknesse, meanwhile,was 7-0 prior to tonight, most recently defeating Marven Malunes at a HEX Fight Series event in November.
The Perth native, who earned a contract by way of Dana White’s Contender Series, opened his Octagon account in style, flooring Anshul Jubli with a clean right hand on home soil.
Despite the Indian fighter immediately looking to grapple his way out of the situation, the referee had seen enough.
25-year-old Salkilld is now 8-1 as a professional, with six of his wins coming via finishes. Jubli, meanwhile, has lost back-to-back fights since winning the Road to UFC tournament.
Tonight’s UFC 312 PPV will be headlined by two title fights, with Dricus Du Plessis defending his middleweight belt in a rematch against Sean Strickland and strawweight queen Zhang Weili facing a challenge from undefeated contender Tatiana Suarez.
Diego Lopes has shifted his focus beyond Yair Rodriguez and is now eyeing a potential title fight.
Lopes recently confirmed that he will not be fighting Rodriguez, a bout that was rumored for the UFC Mexico City main event on March 29. Instead, he revealed in an interview that the UFC has other plans for him.
“The fight with Yair never happened,” Lopes told Submission Radio. “UFC talked to me, ‘OK, now you sit down, you stay here, relax. Maybe we do a big fight for you.’ I’m training, I’m staying ready for one big fight. I need one big fight now. I’m No. 3 in the rankings. I think Max (Holloway) is out of the rankings, but moved to lightweight. I don’t know what’s happening in the division now.”
With UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria teasing a potential move to lightweight, Lopes has turned his attention to a possible championship fight against Alexander Volkanovski. This comes after the Australian suggested a fight with Lopes at UFC 314 should Topuria vacate the featherweight belt.
“If (Topuria) moves, I think I’m next for the title to face Volk,” Lopes said. “I think they vacate the belt, no? I don’t know if Ilia would be ready for 145, maybe October, September? I don’t know. Ilia, I think he’ll move to lightweight.”
Lopes believes a fight against Volkanovski makes the most sense, given the current rankings.
“I think this makes sense, right? Because I’m No. 3, Alex is No. 1,” Lopes said. “Ilia has moved to lightweight. Who’s the next fight for the title? I don’t have one fight for the title. I think me and Alex makes sense for the fight.
“April for me is really good timing. This is a great fight — I need it so much,” Lopes continued. “Alex has a lot of experience in the UFC. I think his last 10 fights were five rounds. The guy has a lot of experience, but it’s a good fight for me. I proved myself. I’m ready for the champ.”
Jack Della Maddalena disagrees with Leon Edwards’ claim that the unusual fight time at UFC 304 affected his performance against Belal Muhammad last July.
Edwards, who lost his welterweight title to Muhammad that night, attributed his fatigue and sluggishness to the late-night start time, which was scheduled to accommodate U.S. pay-per-view audiences. However, Della Maddalena believes that excuse takes credit away from Muhammad’s victory.
“In my opinion, I feel like Leon has always fought like that, so just to blame the timing, I don’t think, is fair on Belal’s part,” Della Maddalena told The Mac Life. “I think Leon has shown that he’s happy sort of not doing too much, using his precise striking just to sit back, and I think Belal pulled off the perfect game plan — just to push the pace, grab a hold of him, make it a bit more ugly.”
Della Maddalena is set to face Edwards on March 22 in the UFC Fight Night London main event at The O2. As he prepares for the matchup, he plans to employ a similarly aggressive strategy to what Muhammad used.
“That would be my plan: Put him up against the cage, build upon a pace, keep pushing the pace, and try to make it ugly,” Della Maddalena said. “I think it’s a good game plan for me, and I’m going to go in there and use the blueprint to try and do what Belal did. I’m not going to try and grab ahold of Leon. I’m just going to be trying to get in the pocket, land big shots, and try to beat him down.”
Michael Bisping is intrigued by a potential showdown between UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
The 145-pound titleholder has expressed interest in moving up to challenge Makhachev, who is currently ranked as the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. While acknowledging the Dagestani’s dominance, the former fighter-turned-commentator believes Topuria’s well-rounded skill set could make the fight competitive — despite the size difference.
“That’s an incredible fight,” Bisping told Submission Radio. “Ilia Topuria, what he’s been able to do, what he’s achieved in such a short space — so impressed. The same with Islam. Islam is incredible. Nobody can sit here and criticize Islam. The fight style that he has, the way that he’s able to use his wrestling to such effectiveness. The striking is always improving and catching up.
“But on the flip side, Ilia is a smaller guy, though. So you take two guys with great skill sets — the bigger guy is always going to win. But if anyone could make that happen, it’s Ilia Topuria. The man said what he’s going to do right from the beginning, changed his bio to champion of the world. He’s knocked out (Alexander) Volkanovski. He’s knocked out Max Holloway. He’s knocking out everybody, and apparently, he’s even better at wrestling than he is at boxing.”
Topuria’s stock has skyrocketed following his knockout victories over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway.
Meanwhile, Makhachev recently secured his fourth lightweight title defense with a quick submission of Renato Moicano at UFC 311.
Sean Strickland is known for his intense and sometimes unorthodox approach to sparring — something that former UFC fighter Matt Brown believes may be holding him back.
Strickland’s sparring sessions are notoriously intense, pushing his training partners hard while focusing on realistic fight simulations. His sparring habits reflect his personality and approach to fighting as intense, technical, and often entertaining. However, Brown believes the former middleweight champ’s constant sparring could be limiting his growth as a fighter.
“The problem with the constant sparring — a lot of people talk about the brain damage and stuff like that. I don’t think that’s nearly as big of a deal as people make it out to be,” Brown said on MMA Fighting’s The Fighter vs. The Writer. “But you don’t evolve quite as much. You’re not compartmentalizing little skills and building on them.
“For instance, I’ve got a guy fighting pretty soon, and today we literally only worked on his jab and stepping outside because he’s fighting a southpaw—so getting his left foot outside of his [opponent’s]. So guys were sparring against him at about 50 or 60 percent, and his only job was to throw a jab and get outside. You’re not throwing right hands, you’re not throwing kicks, so we’re compartmentalizing these little skills.
“So now when he goes and spars again, he’s going to have a much better jab — hopefully. If what we did worked, he’s going to get outside better, and all those other things are going to open up. I don’t really see Strickland doing that because he’s just sparring all the time.”
Brown acknowledges the benefits of Strickland’s heavy sparring approach but argues that it comes at a cost.
“The advantage is he gets his timing very well, he knows exactly what he’s looking for all the time, he knows himself very well as a fighter, he doesn’t get as nervous,” Brown said. “There’s a lot of advantages. But you don’t evolve that way.”
Strickland is set to challenge current middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis in a rematch for the title on Feb. 8 at UFC 312.
The rivalry between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones is one of the most intense and storied in UFC history.
As Cormier climbed the ranks, the rivalry intensified. Jones made disrespectful comments, and Cormier retaliated. The two fought twice for the light heavyweight title, with “Bones” winning both bouts. However, the victories were later marred by controversy.
Cormier has been vocal about his frustration with the circumstances surrounding their fights, believing that Jones’ history with performance-enhancing drugs tainted the competition. The Rochester native failed multiple drug tests, casting a shadow over his wins and raising questions about their legitimacy.
Because of Jones’ history, Cormier — now a UFC color commentator — refuses to consider him the greatest fighter of all time.
“You really can’t deny his greatness, right? Look at what he has done,” Cormier said during the UFC 312 Q&A in Sydney. “The guy has really fought through three generations of fighters. He fought that early generation with (Lyoto) Machida and them. He went through my generation, and now he’s fighting a whole other generation of guys.
“So yeah, of course he’s one of the greatest fighters of all time. But when you do dirty sh*t, you don’t get to be called the greatest of all time.”
Dustin Poirier is hoping to end his MMA career with a final fight in his home state of Louisiana — and he may get his wish.
The former interim lightweight champion is actively working with the UFC to make it happen. Poirier’s last fight was a title bout loss to UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 last June.
According to records obtained by MMA Junkie, the UFC has expressed interest in holding an event in New Orleans in 2025. The promotion hasn’t hosted an event in Louisiana since 2015, when Poirier secured a first-round TKO victory over Yancy Medeiros on the card.
“I wish I could tell you more. I’ve actually been having calls every week with the UFC,” Poirier told The Schmo. “But it’s looking like summer in New Orleans is close to happening for my retirement fight. A pay-per-view in New Orleans this summer would be incredible.
“That’s what I’m pushing for. That’s what the UFC’s working toward, and things are getting pretty close: Lay the gloves down where it all started in Louisiana. It would be an honor for me.”
UFC is the biggest MMA promotion in the world, by far. Because most competitor promotions have turned into dust, it’s almost every MMA fighter’s dream to be a part of the esteemed UFC roaster. Unfortunately, not everyone succeeds in securing such an opportunity, given the promotion only picks the most elite fighters from around the world.
Dana White, the businessman credited for the UFC’s rise, has no biases. He believes that having the desired fighting skills is the only basis on which a fighter can expect to be part of his promotion.
In a recent interview with Mark Bouris leading up to UFC 312 in Australia, the UFC CEO was asked:
“When you go out to put people into the UFC, you got your contender’s series. Are you looking for individuals who are happy to express themselves like as part or just the skill?”
White had a straightforward answer.
“Skills. You can be a deaf-mute, if you’re a bad*** I’m that’s what I’m interested in. I’m interested in how good are you at fighting. If you have a personality like Conor and Ronda and these others, that’s just, you know that’s just a homerun, it doesn’t suck.”
Although White is aware that the UFC is a star-driven business, he still believes that a diverse skillset and potent fighting style make the foundation of a fighter he’d want fighting under his banner.
By keeping skill as an entry barrier, the UFC ensures that the champions in every weight class are always reaching that pinnacle after fighting the best competition available in the world. In contrast, other promotions like PFL and ONE Championship are yet to make such an image among the fans.
The UFC also keeps the competition healthy by constantly signing new names in all their divisions. From picking up the local superstars from regional circuits to poaching established names from the PFL, One Championship, and RIZIN, there are many ways to go about this.
On top of that, of course, the UFC has dedicated shows like Dana White’s Contender Series, Road to UFC, and The Ultimate Fighter, that revolve around handing out contracts to up-and-coming fighters.
UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis has had a long and amusing path to becoming an MMA Fighter. Considering the several twists and turns, it’s a storyline that you’d see in TV shows or movies.
The South African did not start professional MMA until the age of 19. However, the build-up to becoming a modern-day gladiator began when he was just five. The 31-year-old trained different combat arts including judo, wrestling and kickboxing, and finally ended up becoming a fighter for a rising MMA promotion in South Africa.
However, Du Plessis’ life as an athlete really changed when he entered the UFC in October 2020. “Stillknocks” seized this opportunity and went on to become a champion within just seven fights in the promotion. He is set to defend his title for the second time now, against former champion and rival Sean Strickland this Saturday in Sydney, Australia, at UFC 312.
The champ recently sat down with UFC legend Demetrious Johnson for an episode of MightyCast, where he broke down the journey of turning into a mixed martial artist after early dreams of being a Rugby pro.
“I started fighting professionally at 19, I did Judo since I was five years old. I started Judo, yeah, when I was five, I did that for a couple of years, maybe six years. Then, I wrestled for, but I didn’t wrestle very long just, primary school. Like, from the age of 10 to 12, 13 and then at 14, I started with K1 kickboxing.”
Lack of a wrestling and MMA culture in his school didn’t stop Du Plessis from exploring combat sports. However, he was very close to choosing Rugby as his careeer after completing his secondary education.
“We don’t have any of those things in our school system. We don’t have a college wrestling, we don’t have that. You have to do this extracurricular activity after school, so in school, I played rugby, I played I wanted to become a professional rugby player. I played rugby up until I was 19. I played rugby my whole life but, you know kickboxing K1 kickboxing wrestling, judo, all of those were things that that you basically did privately after school. Your parents would take you and I got classes so we moved that’s why we moved, away from where I used to stay with, where I had really good Judo coach and then there was a wrestling club in the new place we stayed and I went to join the wrestling club, did it for two years three years I wasn’t into it.”
Amidst the constant dillema of which career to choose, Du Plessis thanked legendary Croatian martial artist Mirko Filipovic for making him fall in love with kickboxing. Although the veteran’s record doesn’t look the best on paper, he easily had one of the most memorable runs ever in PRIDE, knocking out opponents left and right and with his head kicks.
“And then, with the kickboxing,I just fell in love with that I watched Mirko Cro Cop videos on YouTube and I thought that’s the coolest thing ever. Till this day. one of the the greatest kickboxing. kickboxing K1 fighters in the world to me. He’s somebody that got me into this and yeah, I mean, I became national champion, two years later in kickboxing, and at 18, I became a wacker junior world champion. K1 world champion, I fought in Slovakia. You know, obviously, I loved fighting and I wanted to make a career out of this but you know in kickboxing, I mean, there’s no way to earn a living, not from South Africa. And then the local scene was booming in the EFC here in South Africa with MMA. We have a very good EFC Africa now, worldwide scene, and yeah,19. I started fighting professional MMA and that’s how it all started.”
It isn’t surprising at all that “Cro Cop” inspired Du Plessis to be a fighter becauses anyone who’s seen him fight in PRIDE knows what the UFC middlweight champion is talking about.
Colby Thicknesse is vowing to show the difference in ability between Ilia Topuria and the featherweight kingpin’s UFC debuting brother this weekend.
The preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC 312 pay-per-view will see two prominent newcomers collide, with Thicknesse and Aleksandre Topuria getting their first taste of Octagon action against one another.
The Australian bantamweight, a teammate of Alexander Volkanovski’s, boasts an undefeated record and is coming off championship success under the HEX Fight Series banner. In “El Conquistador,” though, Thicknesse is facing the sibling of one of the most feared and dominant men in the UFC right now.
But challenging an opponent who trains alongside the current 145-pound champ and shares the same name doesn’t faze the local favorite, who is confident in rejecting any comparison between the two when it comes to skill level.
“He’s definitely got the same sort of style because they train together, but he’s not his brother, and I’m going to go out there on (Saturday) and show it,” Thicknesse said during UFC 312 media day. “He hasn’t really beaten anybody noticeable. His opponent’s combined records aren’t that great. Come (Saturday), I get to go out and show that against him.”
Dana White recently reviewed the bone-chilling mentality of Dricus Du Plessis that spread like wildfire in MMA circles. Unlike many fans who found the champion’s quotes cold and intimidating, the UFC President admitted that this mentality is exactly what makes fighters champions in the most competitive MMA organization in the world.
The UFC middleweight champion is all set to defend his title for the second time this Saturday night in a grudge-fueled rematch against former champ Sean Strickland. In an interview with Mark Bouris, the South African made a ruthless admission.
The 31-year-old not only claimed that he’ll be willing to die in the ring to emerge victorious like any other MMA fighter, but he took things further and also confessed to be fine with killing a man in front of his family if needed.
In another interview by Bouris, Dana White had this to say when the host reminded him about Du Plessis’ remarks:
“All of these guys, I mean if you go in and you’re going to stand toe-to-toe for five rounds. And remember, you can punch, kick, knee, elbow, take a shin to the head, all I mean, these people are wired differently than the rest of us. That’s what makes professional fighters and especially in MMA so different as far as humans go.”
White explained that the lack of this killer instinct is why there’s only a few MMA world champions out there. Considering he’s been dealing with such personalities for decades now, he definitely understands them more than an average human.
“There’s this many of them right here, that become world champions and have that type of mindset. They’re not wired like you and I. They’re different, they’re special human beings and yeah, I mean, I think that’s all of their mindset when they go in and fight.”
There is no doubt MMA fighters are modern-day gladiators and “Stillknocks” is clearly a fighter who’s embraced this mindset in the perfect way. He’s calm, composed, and collected outside the Octagon but only wreaks havoc as soon as the time to fight begins.
Unlike the previous outing against Strickland which ended in a razor-close split decision win, Du Plessis aims to resolve the rivalry with a KO victory this time around.
Sayif Saud, head coach at Fortis MMA, anticipates an all-out war between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland in their UFC 312 rematch this Saturday.
The two middleweights will run it back less than a year after their closely contested fight at UFC 297, where Du Plessis captured the middleweight title by split decision. Their first encounter was action-packed, with both fighters believing they had done enough to win.
Now, they meet again in Sydney, with Strickland blaming his previous loss on an alleged illegal headbutt and questionable judging. Meanwhile, Du Plessis sees no controversy and aims for a decisive victory to silence any doubts.
“Sean Strickland is not a f*cking game,” Saud told MMA Junkie. “Sean Strickland is a guy that I think builds confidence with experience. He has experience in there with Dricus, going at Dricus. People are kind of counting him out a little bit more in this fight, saying, ‘Well, Dricus is going to finish, Dricus is getting better and better.’ That might be the case, but I still see this as a very close fight. I just think with the experience that Sean Strickland has, mentally, I feel like he’ll be more prepared. But again, the champion is 30 percent better every time.
“You become the champion, you’re literally 30 percent better. The confidence that comes with that. Dricus is a f*cking beast. He knows it doesn’t look great, but he don’t care. His whole thing is, ‘I’m going to out-will you.’ And that’s powerful, man. Fighting is about will, and he out-wills people. He really, really does. But that ain’t going to be easy to go do against Sean Strickland, because Sean Strickland is a five-round fighter.”
Saud believes Du Plessis will be ready if Strickland comes out aggressively looking for a finish. Because of this, he dismisses any predictions of a dull fight, expecting an even more intense battle than their first encounter.
“I think we’re going to see what we saw (in the first fight), but a little more aggressive version of that,” Saud said. “I think they’re going to add on a bit, they’re going to study the tape, and they’re going to come up with some more stuff. But Dricus’ coach is really, really good at game planning. This is going to be a real chess match between these two, and it’s going to be violent.”
The title clash at the top of the card will see Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland’s feud reach a second chapter 13 months on from the South African’s crowning in Canada. They’ll renew hostilities after both recording a victory apiece since their tight five-round headliner at UFC 297.
Beforehand, another champ will be in action as strawweight queen Zhang Weili gets her campaign for the new year underway. To extend her second reign beyond its third title defense, the Chinese standout is tasked with blemishing the currently perfect record of challenger Tatiana Suarez.
UFC 312: Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 Weigh-In Results
UFC 312 takes place Saturday, February 8 (February 9 local time) at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. The main card begins at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT, with the preliminary card starting at 6 PM ET/3 PM PT.
See above for a replay of the UFC 312 Weigh-In Show, and check out the results below.
Main Card:
Middleweight Championship: Dricus Du Plessis (185lbs) vs. Sean Strickland (185lbs)
Women’s Strawweight Championship: Zhang Weili (115lbs) vs. Tatiana Suarez (114.5lbs)
Heavyweight: Justin Tafa (266lbs) vs. Tallison Teixeira (263lbs)
Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute (206lbs) vs. Rodolfo Bellato (205lbs)
Welterweight: Jake Matthews (170.5lbs) vs. Francisco Prado (170.5lbs)
Preliminary Card:
Featherweight: Jack Jenkins (146lbs) vs. Gabriel Santos (145.5lbs)
Lightweight: Tom Nolan (155.5lbs) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (156lbs)
Women’s Flyweight: Wang Cong (125lbs) vs. Bruna Brasil (125.5lbs)
Bantamweight: Colby Thicknesse (135.5lbs) vs. Aleksandre Topuria (135.5lbs)
Early Preliminary Card:
Lightweight: Rongzhu (156lbs) vs. Kody Steele (156lbs)
Welterweight: Kevin Jousset (171lbs) vs. Jonathan Micallef (170lbs)
Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld (156lbs) vs. Anshul Jubli (155.5lbs)
Flyweight: HyunSung Park vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel*
*Due to weight management issues with Nyamjargal Tumendemberel, his flyweight bout with HyunSung Park has been canceled.
In one of his most popular interviews ever, Dricus Du Plessis claimed that the version of Conor McGregor who displayed a perfect clinical performance against the then-lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, would’ve defeated Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The reigning UFC middleweight champion is a huge “Notorious” fan. Du Plessis has also frequently expressed his desire to move up a weight class to be a double champ, a feat first achieved by “The Mystic Mac” in the UFC.
Despite the gradually heating rivalry with Alex Pereira, “Stillknocks” believes in making at least three title defenses against rising contenders like Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov in the middlweight division. On the other hand, McGregor moved up to lightweight without ever defending his featherweight belt, a trend which fans call out quickly now a days.
In an interview with Shadow Banned back in April 2024 , Du Plessis had said:
“He deserved to go up there because he absolutely made That look easy against Alvarez. One of the best performances at the highest level, I’ve seen in my whole life.”
He had further added:
“His fight against Alvarez. I mean, I was already a professional long time then and I mean everybody, you look at that fight it was Flawless. He didn’t do anything wrong. He fought one of the greatest fighters in the world and he made him look like an amateur. Conor McGregor, as a favorite fighter, I said Gilbert Burns one of my favourite fighters, and so is Conor.”
When asked whether the 2016 version of McGregor who fought Alvarez woould’ve given Nurmagomedov more problems, the 31-year-old replied:
“I think he beats Khabib.”
It is safe to assume that Du Plessis still holds high regard for everything McGregor has achieved inside the Octagon. In his recent interviews with Mark Bouris, he yet again praised the former UFC double champ for introducing mental warfare to fighting and elevating the overall pay scale of mixed martial arts athletes worldwide.
As of now, the South African is all set for his upcoming rematch against Sean Strickland this Saturday night at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
