For UFC 312, the UFC went down under for the fourth time since 2023. While, on paper, the Pay-Per-View card didn’t dazzle the fans, the event ended up producing some great chunks of action.

Jimmy Crute returned after a 19-month hiatus and fought Rodolfo Bellato to a draw in a wild back-and-forth. The debuting heavyweight giant Tallison Teixeira made quick work of Justin Tafa. And the two title fights saw the champions retain their titles in dominant fashions.

Dricus Du Plessis

This might have been the most technically sound performance we have seen from Du Plessis, so far. Although, while he shutout Sean Strickland on two of the judges’ scorecards, it’s not like he exactly blew him out of the water.

His next opponent is obvious, and this fight didn’t do a lot to teach us anything about how it might go down. We saw no defensive grappling from the South African, which doesn’t exactly help us understand how he’ll navigate his next challenge: Khamzat Chimaev. It’s been the obvious fight to make ever since Chimaev defeated Robert Whittaker back in October. Assuming the fight can be made without too many travelling issues from Chimaev’s camp, it should go down sometime this summer. The fans want it, Dana White wants it, and even Du Plessis wants it.

If Chimaev once again needs to wait until October to fight in Abu Dhabi, then Du Plessis can fight Nassourdine Imavov, in the meantime.

Du Plessis’ next fight: Khamzat Chimaev

Zhang Weili

Tatiana Suarez was seen as the uncrowned champion for many years while away with health troubles. She closed as the betting favourite seemingly because all the fans who had picked her as a lock to become a champion many moons ago wanted to put their money where their mouths are. And who can blame them when the wrestling phenom had finishes over champions like Alexa Grasso, Carla Esparza and Jessica Andrade?

All this makes what Zhang Weili accomplished on Saturday that much more impressive. She didn’t just hand the challenger her first professional defeat, she thoroughly dominated her. Zhang defended 14 of 15 takedown attempts and became the first fighter to take Suarez the the ground. At 35 years of age, “Magnum” is showing no signs of slowing down and she deserves the chance to grab a second belt. But first, Valentina Shevchenko has business with Manon Fiorot to take care of.

Zhang’s next fight: Flyweight title shot

Tallison Teixeira

Teixeira is 25 years old, 6’7”, and undefeated with a 100% 1^st-round finish rate. In other words, he’s a legitimate heavyweight prospect and those have been an endangered species in this sport for some time. The way he folded Justin Tafa in just 35 seconds after landing just one elbow in the clinch is the type of clip the UFC should be posting on all their social media accounts.

Part of me would’ve been curious to see him go up against fellow 6’7” giant Robelis Despaigne, but the Cuban was released last year. Some people are calling for Teixeira to be fast tracked to the rankings to breathe some life into the division. At just 25, there’s no rush for him to be fighting the Derrick Lewises of the world yet, no matter how fun that matchup would be. Instead, I believe the promotion should be looking to make Teixeira their Rookie of the Year and have him fight 4, maybe even 5 times this year. The man has an average fight time of 1:56, he should have no problem getting at least one fight in every quarter of the year just like Carlos Prates did in 2024. For that, he needs an opponent who the promotion can expect to offer a relatively low amount of resistance. I went with Sean Sharaf, but Lukasz Brzeski or even the other Tafa brother are fine options as well.

Teixeira’s next fight: Sean Sharaf

Jake Matthews

The still only 30-year-old Matthews got a consummate, professional win on Saturday, soundly beating the young Francisco Prado, who was making a move up in weight. It wasn’t the most astonishing performance, but “The Celtic Kid” showed levels against a dangerous youngster with a 100% finish rate, with 9 of his 12 wins coming in the very first round.

Matthews called for a fight with Neil Magny. I don’t think Matthews deserves a shot at the rankings just yet, but now that Magny isn’t ranked anymore, that is a matchup I can get behind. Beating the veteran Magny would give Matthews a third consecutive victory and then he’d probably be looking at a ranked opponent. And coming off back-to-back 1^st-round KO losses to Michael Morales and Carlos Prates, Magny has never looked as vulnerable as he does right now. Taking all of that into account, this was a smart and calculated callout from the Australian.

Matthews has been in the promotion for 11 years and is 10-4 in his last 14 fights. This is an opportunity he has earned the hard way, and I’m inclined to give it to him.

Matthews’ next fight: Neil Magny