UFC 312: How to watch Du Plessis-Strickland 2 and Weili-Suarez title fights, Sydney lineup, odds, more

(This story was updated to add new information.)

The UFC’s return to Australia is set for Saturday in Sydney. Here’s how to watch UFC 312 with two title fights at the top of the bill at Qudos Bank Arena.

Broadcast and streaming info

UFC 312 has a main card that begins at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on pay-per-view (via ESPN+). The four-fight preliminary card airs on ESPN2 and streams on Disney+ at 8 p.m. ET. Four early prelims stream on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET. Longtime UFC correspondent Heidi Androl will conduct pre and post-fight interviews backstage with some of the athletes on the UFC 312 card, as well as report additional real-time updates for the event.

Jon Anik will host the official UFC 312 weigh-in show on Friday. He’ll be joined by UFC Hall of Famers Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping, as well as former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith, former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez and Din Thomas will serve as a desk analysts on the UFC 312 post-fight show and throughout the card, when necessary. Brendan Fitzgerald will serve as the desk host.

Anik will serve as the leading man on the mic from cageside at UFC 312. He will command play-by-play alongside color commentators, former UFC champions Cormier and Bisping. Thomas will also contribute to the broadcast as a coach-analyst. (Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie)

Main event: Dricus Du Plessis Record: 22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC
Opponent: Sean Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Key wins: Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland, Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson, Darren Till
Misc.: Du Plessis took the 185-pound title from Strickland a little more than a year ago at UFC 297. After a first defense over ex-champ Israel Adesanya, he now chases a second defense in a rematch. When he was KSW champion, he lost his only rematch so far to Roberto Soldic.

Main event: Sean Strickland Record: 29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC

Opponent: Dricus Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Key wins: Paulo Costa, Israel Adesanya, Nassourdine Imavov, Jack Hermansson
Misc.: Strickland bounced back from his title loss to Du Plessis with a split decision win over Paulo Costa this past June. That was enough to get him another shot.

Co-main event: Zhang Weili Record: 25-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC
Opponent: Tatiana Suarez (11-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC)
Division: Women’s strawweight
Key wins: Xiaonan Yan, Amanda Lemos, Carla Esparza, Joanna Jedrzejczyk (twice)
Misc.: Weili lost the strawweight title to Rose Namajunas in 2021 and lost a rematch to her later that year. But since then, she has four straight wins – including when she recaptured the belt 27 months ago and two successful defenses since then.

Co-main event: Tatiana Suarez Record: 11-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC
Opponent: Zhang Weili (25-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC)
Division: Women’s strawweight
Key wins: Jessica Andrade, Montana De La Rosa, Carla Esparza, Alexa Grasso
Misc.: It’s been an interesting road to the title for Suarez. She was out of action for nearly four years before she returned two years ago for a bonus-winning submission of Montana De La Rosa. Later that year, she choked out ex-champ Jessica Andrade. She pulled out of a fight against Amanda Lemos a year ago with an injury and was set to return in December against Virna Jandiroba – but took advantage of perfect timing to fight for the belt, instead.

UFC debut: Tallison Teixeira Record: 7-0
Opponent: Justin Tafa (7-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC)
Division: Heavyweight
Misc.: All seven wins by stoppage, including first-round DWCS win in December and a pair of first-round wins under the LFA banner.

UFC debut: Colby Thicknesse Record: 7-0
Opponent: Aleksandre Topuria (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
Division: Bantamweight
Misc.: Aussie has three straight first-round finishes heading into his promotional debut on home soil.

UFC debut: Aleksandre Topuria Record: 5-1
Opponent: Colby Thicknesse (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
Division: Bantamweight
Misc.: 29-year-old brother of UFC featherweight champion Alexander Topuria has all five of his wins by stoppage.

UFC debut: Jonathan Micallef Record: 7-1
Opponent: Kevin Jousset (10-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC)
Division: Welterweight
Misc.: 25-year-old Australian gets home UFC debut after a first-round submission win on DWCS to punch his ticket this past October.

UFC debut: Kody Steele Record: 7-0
Opponent: Rong Zhu (25-6 MMA, 1-3 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Misc.: 29-year-old native of the stunning Olympic National Park area who trains in Las Vegas gets his UFC shot on the heels of a second-round DWCS win this past October.

UFC debut: Quillan Salkilld Record: 7-1
Opponent: Anshul Jubli (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Misc.: 25-year-old former Eternal MMA champion in Australia gets a home UFC debut after a DWCS win this past September.

UFC 312 main card betting odds MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Dricus Du Plessis -195 vs. Sean Strickland +165 – for middleweight title
• Champ Zhang Weili -130 vs. Tatiana Suarez +110 – for women’s strawweight title
• Justin Tafa +130 vs. Tallison Teixeira -155
• Rodolfo Bellato -140 vs. Jimmy Crute +120
• Jake Matthews -220 vs. Francisco Prado +180

UFC 312 prelim betting odds

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2/Disney+, 8 p.m. ET)

• Jack Jenkins +175 vs. Gabriel Santos -210
• Viacheslav Borshchev -150 vs. Tom Nolan +125
• Bruna Brasil +315 vs. Wang Cong -425
• Colby Thicknesse +300 vs. Aleksandre Topuria -450

UFC 312 early prelim betting odds PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Kody Steele -245 vs. Rong Zhu +200
• Kevin Jousset -240 vs. Jonathan Micallef +195
• Anshul Jubli +325 vs. Quillan Salkilld -450
• HyunSung Park -290 vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel +235

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