A rematch of last January’s UFC 297 main event arrives this Saturday (well, Sunday locally) in Sydney, Australia as middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis faces off with Sean Strickland for the second time.
With little over a year between the two fights, much of what differs comes in the intangibles. In the first bout, Strickland was uncharacteristically thrown by some of the trash talk, much of which touched on him being raised in an abusive environment, and which often strayed far beyond what many would consider “the line” when it comes to hyping up a fight. It went so far as for Strickland to threaten to stab (quite literally) Du Plessis before the fight ever arrived.
Things calmed down after that, and talk between the two has been much more reserved in advance of the rematch. And whatever Dana White claims about being a champion of free speech, he’s likely quite grateful for that, given the darkness that shrouded the pair’s first encounter.
Now, Strickland returns to the scene of his biggest triumph, where he unseated Israel Adesanya – and where he has become something of a star. It’s certainly the most favorable condition possible for the title challenger, short of fighting at home in Las Vegas.
In the co-main event, Tatiana Suarez, after nearly a decade’s worth of injury struggles, finally gets her shot at strawweight gold. It’s hard to imagine, with UFC 312 knocking on the door, that Suarez won The Ultimate Fighter 23 all the way back in 2016 (with tryouts for the show coming in December of the previous year). Suarez was a fresh-faced twenty-something with a 3-0 record in MMA. In the nine years since, she’s picked up six wins, and far more than her share of injuries. Yet she remains undefeated, and with strawweight in something of a rebuilding phase with Rose Namajunas having moved to flyweight and Joanna Jedrzejczyk retired, now is clearly the time for Tatiana Suarez.
Of course, two-time champ Weili Zhang, the third longtime face of the division along with Jedrzejczyk and Namajunas, is as tough a test as Suarez could ask for. A future UFC Hall of Famer, the Chinese star’s only losses have come to Namajunas, and at the very start of her career, ONE Championship alum Meng Bo.
Our picks are in for Saturday’s UFC 312; check below to see who we think comes out ahead.
| Writer / Fight | Matthews vs. Prado | Crute vs. Bellato | Tafa vs. Teixeira | Zhang vs. Suarez | Du Plessis vs. Strickland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Anderson (10-5) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Eddie Law (9-6) | |  | |  |  |
| Alex Behunin (9-6) | | | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik (9-6) | | | | | |
| Dylan Napoleone (8-7) | | | | | |
| Brett Cagle (7-8) | | | | | |
| Patrick McCorry (6-9) | | | | | |
| Mathis Dejardins (6-9) | | | | | |
Right off the bat, Jake Matthews stands out as one of two unanimous selections among our staff. Francisco Prado is no joke, and has two post-fight bonuses in his three UFC fights.
The other unanimous pick is newcomer Talisson Teixeira, which might sting a bit for Australia’s own “Bad Man” Justin Tafa. Rodolfo Bellato, meanwhile, is a favorite over the returning Jimmy Crute.
As for the two title fights, they’re much closer in our eyes, with the champs getting the slight edge to retain.
