All fighters successfully made weight Friday ahead of Saturday’s highly anticipated UFC 312 event at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena. Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and former titleholder Sean Strickland stared down without incident after both hitting the 185-pound limit for their main event clash, while strawweight queen Zhang Weili and undefeated challenger Tatiana Suarez finalized their co-headliner showdown.
The #UFC312 main event is official!
Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland make championship weight for the middleweight title main event. 🏆
Weigh-in results: https://t.co/JoFTpsN7G0 pic.twitter.com/pRuHi1Y70x
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 7, 2025
The card marks the UFC’s return to Australia with championship stakes and local talent. South Africa’s Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) looks to build on his shocking title win over Israel Adesanya, while Strickland (4-0 UFC in last four) seeks redemption after narrowly losing the belt to Du Plessis in January 20252. The co-main features China’s Weili (25-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) defending against California’s Suarez (11-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who aims to become the first fighter to dethrone the two-time champ since 2022.
Main Card Highlights
Heavyweight fan favorite Justin Tafa tipped scales at 264 pounds for his clash with Brazilian newcomer Tallison Teixeira (246), while Australian Jimmy Crute (205) drew cheers during faceoffs with Brazilian Rodolfo Bellato (206) in a light heavyweight bout. Hometown fighter Jake Matthews (170) also hit his mark for a welterweight clash with Argentina’s Francisco Prado (171).
Preliminary Card Notes
The ESPN+ prelims feature rising Georgian prospect Aleksandre Topuria (146) against Australian newcomer Colby Thicknesse (145), while China’s Wang Cong (116) meets Brazil’s Bruna Brasil (116) in a women’s strawweight contest. Lightweight prospects Viacheslav Borshchev (156) and Tom Nolan (155) open the televised prelims2.
Full UFC 312 Weigh-In Results
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET)
- Dricus Du Plessis (185) vs. Sean Strickland (185) – middleweight title
- Zhang Weili (115) vs. Tatiana Suarez (115) – women’s strawweight title
- Justin Tafa (264) vs. Tallison Teixeira (246)
- Rodolfo Bellato (206) vs. Jimmy Crute (205)
- Jake Matthews (170) vs. Francisco Prado (171)
Preliminary Card (ESPNews/Disney+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Jack Jenkins (146) vs. Gabriel Santos (145)
- Viacheslav Borshchev (156) vs. Tom Nolan (155)
- Bruna Brasil (116) vs. Wang Cong (116)
- Colby Thicknesse (145) vs. Aleksandre Topuria (146)
Early Prelims (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Kody Steele (156) vs. Rong Zhu (156)
- Kevin Jousset (171) vs. Jonathan Micallef (170)
- Anshul Jubli (155.5) vs. Quillan Salkilld (156)
