UFC 312 results: Champions Dricus Du Plessis, Zhang Weili dominate in Sydney

Reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and strawweight champion Zhang Weili both produced dominant displays in Sydney, Australia as they retained their titles in fine style at UFC 312.

The two title fights topped a fight card packed with Australian stars. But it was South Africa's Du Plessis and China's Zhang who stole the show with big-time performances at Qudos Bank Arena to tee up potentially huge fights in the summer.

Middleweight king Du Plessis validated his claim as the best middleweight on the planet as he dominated former champion Sean Strickland to retain his 185-pound crown.

Du Plessis dethroned Strickland after their first meeting went to a split-decision, with "Stillknocks" edging the scorecards after a super-close encounter.

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A rematch was a must, with both men determined to deliver a decisive victory in the second meeting. But on fight night, it was mostly one-way traffic as Du Plessis pushed the pace for the vast majority of the five-round clash.

The exclamation point came in Round 4, when a big Du Plessis shot broke Strickland's nose as the former champion quickly found himself covered in blood. Strickland reset the bone mid-round and managed to continue to the end of the fight. But over the 25-minute duration, he had no answer to Du Plessis's brand of unconventional striking and relentless forward pressure.

The final scorecards of 50-45, 50-45, 49-46 illustrated the gap between the pair on the night as Du Plessis got the dominant win he had hoped for heading into fight night.

Zhang shows her greatness in strawweight title win

While Du Plessis was a clear betting favorite heading into his bout with Strickland, women's strawweight champion Zhang stepped into the Octagon as the underdog with some sportsbooks, with the odds for her bout with Tatiana Suarez flip-flopping the pair from favorite to underdog status, then back again.

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Many believed that Suarez's prodigious wrestling would be the difference-maker in their title fight. But the undefeated American met her nemesis in champion Zhang who, one first-round takedown aside, managed to nullify almost all of Suarez's wrestling-based offense.

And with Zhang dominating the exchanges on the feet, and reversing position with relative ease on the mat, the Chinese champion was able to dominate the majority of exchanges on the feet and on the ground en route to a unanimous decision victory, with scores of 49-46, 49-46, 49-45.

UFC 312: Official results

MAIN CARD

Dricus Du Plessis def. Sean Strickland via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) – for middleweight title
Zhang Weili def Tatiana Suarez via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45) – for women's strawweight title
Tallison Teixeira def. Justin Tafa via TKO (knee and elbows) – Round 1, 0:35
Jimmy Crute vs Rodolfo Bellato ruled a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
Jake Matthews def. Francisco Prado via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Gabriel Santos def. Jack Jenkins via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:06
Tom Nolan def. Viacheslav Borshchev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Wang Cong def. Bruna Brasil via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Aleksandre Topuria def. Colby Thicknesse via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

EARLY PRELIMS

Rongzhu def. Kody Steele via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jonathan Micallef def. Kevin Jousset via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Quillan Salkilld def. Anshul Jubli via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 0:19

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