The UFC’s return to Australia in February will be top-heavy with a pair of title fights.
Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) wanted a title defense against Khamzat Chimaev, but instead it will be a rematch against former champ Sean Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC), whom he beat to win the title earlier this year.
In addition, women’s strawweight titleholder Weili Zhang (25-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) will take on challenger Tatiana Suarez (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) – who went from a fight against Virna Jandiroba at UFC 310 that was scrapped to a title shot.
UFC officials announced the bouts during Saturday’s UFC 310 pay-per-view broadcast. UFC 312 takes place Feb. 9 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
The latest UFC 312 lineup now includes:
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Champ Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland – for middleweight title
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Champ Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez – for women’s strawweight title
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Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio
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Anshul Jubli vs. Quillan Salkilld
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Stewart Nicoll vs. Rei Tsuruya
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 312.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 312 gets two title fights in Sydney – including a rematch
