Strickland beaten by Du Plessis again in middleweight title fight at UFC 312 – live results and reaction
Dricus Du Plessis outpointed Sean Strickland for the second time in 13 months, retaining the belt that he took from his rival in their first meeting
Dricus Du Plessis did the double over Sean Strickland by beating him on points again at UFC 312, retaining the middleweight title in the process.
Du Plessis took the belt from Strickland in January 2024, winning a controversial decision against the American, and the pair went the distance again on Saturday (8 February). This time, however, there was no disputing the winner. Du Plessis, the first fighter from South Africa to wear UFC gold, outstruck Strickland to secure scorecards of 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46, seemingly breaking his rival’s nose along the way.
The 31-year-old was already on course for victory when he landed a clean right cross in round four, causing blood to stream from Strickland’s nose as the 33-year-old pawed at it repeatedly. To his credit, Strickland not only made it to the final buzzer but continued to throw back, although his overall output paled in comparison to that of Du Plessis.
Strickland was nowhere near urgent enough throughout the fight, as Du Plessis built a comfortable lead and maintained it through 25 minutes.
In the co-main event, Zhang Weili put on a clinic to retain the strawweight title against Tatiana Suarez, extending her second reign with the belt. Re-live the action and see all results from the UFC 312 main card and prelims:
UFC 312: Early prelim results, as regular prelims begin
Okay, the regular prelims will begin in just a few minutes. Before then, here’s a round-up of the early prelims results:
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 first-round TKO (0:19)
Alexander Volkanovski vs Ilia Topuria 2... kind of...
Here’s how the regular prelims look, in reverse order:
Jack Jenkins vs Gabriel Santos (featherweight)
Tom Nolan vs Viacheslav Borshchev (lightweight)
Wang Cong vs Bruna Brasil (women’s flyweight)
Colby Thicknesse vs Aleksandre Topuria (bantamweight)
Thicknesse, a late-notice replacement, is a teammate of former featherweight champ Alex Volkanovski. His opponent, Aleksandre Topuria, is the brother of Ilia Topuria – who dethroned Volkanovski a year ago.
So, an interesting narrative around this one, with Volk and Ilia expected to be in each corner! Thicknesse and Aleksandre are both making their UFC debuts, by the way.
UFC 312 LIVE: Aleksandre Topuria beats Colby Thicknesse, Wang Cong faces Bruna Brasil
Aleksandre Topuria def. Colby Thicknesse via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
The right result, never in doubt.
Next, to the women’s flyweight division, where Wang Cong fights Bruna Brasil.
UFC 312 LIVE: Wang Cong sees off Bruna Brasil, Tom Nolan fights Viacheslav Borshchev
Wang Cong def. Bruna Brasil via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Next up is a lightweight bout between Tom Nolan and Viacheslav Borshchev.
UFC 312 LIVE: Tom Nolan outpoints Viacheslav Borshchev, Jack Jenkins faces Gabriel Santos
Tom Nolan def. Viacheslav Borshchev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
Another fair result, before we drop down to the featherweight division for Jack Jenkins vs Gabriel Santos.
UFC 312 LIVE: Gabriel Santos submits Jack Jenkins, Jake Matthews outpoints Francisco Prado
Gabriel Santos def. Jack Jenkins via third-round submission (rear naked choke, 2:06).
Jake Matthews def. Francisco Prado via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
UFC 312 LIVE: Jimmy Crute vs Rodolfo Bellato
Round one
Crute with a spinning back kick to the body. He overshoots a punch and Bellato gets a body lock, but Crute does well to reverse the takedown!
Crute lands in mount, and he goes for a rear naked choke as Bellato turns under him...
But Bellato escapes and gets half-guard. Now in full guard, Crute is landing decent punches from above.
And a pair of huge elbows! The Aussie is fully in control so far.
Bellato manages to create space, and the pair stand, but Crute drops the Brazilian with a big right hook – before landing more elbows on the downed Bellato!!
What a round for Crute.
UFC 312 LIVE: Jimmy Crute vs Rodolfo Bellato
Round two
Both men land clean right crosses now. Twice Crute overshoots, though, and he’s punished for one of those – as Bellato slings an uppercut.
Now simultaneous jabs land. Bellato looks better here; if you’re Crute, surely you try a takedown, given your success from on top in round one?
Crute looks exhausted, and he comes off worst in one exchange, but he fires back with a good right cross. Blood is smeared around Prado’s mouth.
Crute manages a couple of knees up the middle, but he eats some hooks.
Oh! A heel kick catches the back of Crute’s head!
UFC 312 LIVE: Jimmy Crute vs Rodolfo Bellato
Round three
Crute finally makes the wise move of pursuing a takedown, but he’s too tired to finish it.
A grappling sequence ensues later, however, and Bellato gets the better of Crute.
They’re back on their feet in the final minute, both landing clean punches. Both look knackered.
Crute sticks his tongue out at Bellato, who slaps the Aussie!
The final buzzer sounds.
Jimmy Crute and Rodolfo Bellato fight to majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28).
Crute with a 10-8 in round one but losing the latter two rounds, for two of the judges! He’ll be gutted he couldn’t maintain that early quality.
UFC 312 LIVE: Justin Tafa vs Tallison Teixeira
Round one
OH! Teixeira gets the knockout win in the first minute!!
In fact, barely 30 seconds have gone when Tafa drops to the mat, following a pair of knees to the body and an elbow upstairs!
Tallison Teixeira def. Justin Tafa via first-round TKO (0:35).
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments