UFC 312 is all about the middleweight and strawweight titles.

The promotion returns to Sydney, Australia, this Saturday for its first 2025 appearance in the country. In the main event, it's a rematch between UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and former champ Sean Strickland. At UFC 297 in January 2024, du Plessis took the title from Strickland, sending each man toward different opponents before they picked up wins to meet again "Down Under."

In the co-main event, reigning 115-pound queen Zhang Weili defends her throne against an inevitable challenger in the undefeated 10-0 Tatiana Suarez. And ... that's about it for meaningful and compelling matches. UFC 312 is essentially a two-fight card, folks. But what a pair of fights they are.

Betting odds courtesy of BetMGM.

185 pounds: (C) Dricus du Plessis (-210) vs. Sean Strickland (+170)

Who's ready for Round 6?

The narratives surrounding the immediate aftermath of du Plessis vs. Strickland 1 were all over the place. Was it a great fight? Was it a robbery? Was it a coin-flip decision? While all these questions swirled in the ether, the first two should've never been invited in reality, because the answer was clearly no.

Du Plessis ultimately won a hard-fought and competitive split decision. It was entertaining but far from a technical masterpiece, like many of du Plessis and Strickland's wins. Strickland has since shouted robbery at every turn and blamed Canada for his misfortune, and now they've traveled across the globe to settle the score.

One thing that's become incredibly apparent throughout du Plessis' eight-fight UFC run is that he might just be one of the greatest winners of all time. He's not at all the greatest fighter, especially in terms of his skills and technique. But the guy wants to win so much more than all of his opponents.

Strickland will Strickland. That's the big problem for him in this rematch. Since "Tarzan" reached what's likely his final form at age 33, we know what to expect from him every time out. He has a strong defensive shell, forward pressure and a healthy serving of teep kicks to maintain his distance while searching for an opening to dash off 1-2 combinations.

In their first fight, du Plessis forced Strickland to brawl more than he typically does, while also mixing in the occasional takedown of his own. "Stillknocks" scored six takedowns in 25 minutes, and should return to that well at a possibly higher frequency on Saturday. Du Plessis also out-landed Strickland, dealing more damage than he absorbed, but the striking battle was closer than their grappling contrast.

Stylistically, Strickland probably can't play his usual game twice against someone as aggressive and dangerous everywhere as du Plessis. There's no reason to believe he won't, though. The time is now for "DDP." Don't be surprised if he puts his rival away in their sequel.

Pick: Du Plessis

115 pounds: (C) Zhang Weili (+100) vs. Tatiana Suarez (-120)

Zhang vs. Suarez is the fight the world should have its eyes on.

As soon as Suarez dominated "The Ultimate Fighter 23" in 2016, it was evident she was a future champion in the making. Unfortunately, injuries delayed her inevitability, but better late than never, right? Even still, Zhang has earned her place as one of the best ever in the strawweight division.

This championship affair comes down to one simple factor: Whether or not Suarez can do what she always does, which is dominate using her unmatched wrestling. Theoretically, she should be able to. No matter how much Zhang has improved as a wrestler in recent years — which is heaps — she'll be outmatched in that department. In her UFC career, Zhang holds a 50% takedown defense rate against lesser wrestlers, as opposed to Suarez's perfect 100% rate.

Outside of wrestling, Zhang has the edge in every other aspect of MMA. She might even have the advantage in the clinch game against Suarez. Zhang is a supremely talented striker and submission-seeking brute with versatile tools. But Suarez excels in her area of expertise so much that it may not even matter. It's the jack of all trades vs. the master of one.

One key to watch in this matchup is the cardio of both as the fight goes long. Suarez has never seen rounds beyond the third, and her physicality could drain her after applying pressure early. Then again, it could do the same to Zhang if she has to work hard fending off takedowns for the first few rounds.

Suarez is one of those anomaly wrestling forces we only occasionally see rise to the top of a division. She will find success and get ahold of Zhang. If she doesn't get caught with a big strike or submission, she'll pummel the two-time champion en route to a late stoppage, whether through a submission choke or ground-and-pound.

Pick: Suarez

265 pounds: Justin Tafa (+115) vs. Tallison Teixeira (-140)

It's brutal scenes from here on out, y'all.

Unranked heavyweights Justin Tafa and newcomer Tallison Teixeira lead into the first two title fights. Tafa has been a notoriously durable heavyweight, reminiscent of a combination of Mark Hunt and Tai Tuivasa — and not just aesthetically. Tafa possesses the power you'd expect from someone similar to those other two. But outside of that, there doesn't seem to be much else to him as he looks to rebound off a unanimous decision loss to Karl Williams.

Standing at 6-foot-7 with an 83-inch reach, Brazil's Teixeira is a massive 25-year-old prospect, giving him a seven-inch height and nine-inch reach advantage over his opponent. He's been a dangerous man in his undefeated seven-fight career thus far, scoring all but one of his wins by first-round knockout — the other being an armbar also in Round 1.

Teixeira has shown some real promise, and this fight is tailor-made to be a friendly welcoming party to the Octagon.

Pick: Teixeira

205 pounds: Jimmy Crute (+135) vs. Rodolfo Bellato (-165)

Injuries derailed any hype Australia's Jimmy Crute had during his rise in 2020, and he's gone winless over his past four fights. After missing all of 2024, he's back to seek the upset over Brazil's Rodolfo Bellato.

Despite also missing 2024, Bellato has been more active in recent years than Crute, competing four times in 2023 after he earning his UFC contract through Contender Series. Bellato has been a dangerous light heavyweight on the feet and the ground. Crute has lived and died by the sword, only losing via finish.

Crute's recent track record is just too spotty — and frankly, bad — to trust until proven otherwise. Bellato will be met head-on by the game Aussie and ultimately rock Crute en route to a finish.

(Every time I typed Bellato for this entry, my fingers couldn't resist adding the "r" to the end of it. Rest in peace, old friend.)

Pick: Bellato

170 pounds: Jake Matthews (-225) vs. Francisco Prado (+185)

Jake Matthews is one of the youngest and most successful journeymen of all time.

The Australian undeniably entered the UFC too early when he debuted in June 2014. More than a decade later, still somehow only 30 years old, Matthews has been good enough to carve out a lasting career while never really reaching the top 15. It's stunning and impressive for what it is.

Matthews has shown serious flashes of brilliance throughout his career but failed to deliver consistently. However, he flourishes more often than not in a home game, and Francisco Prado has his work cut out for him, being heavily outmatched in the experience department. Matthews will be too well-rounded defensively and sharp with his boxing skills to face much resistance from his counterpart.

Maybe, just maybe, 2025 will be Matthews' year to break into the upper echelon of 170 pounds.

Pick: Matthews

Preliminary notes

Viacheslav Borschev vs. Tom Nolan is the sleeper pick for Fight of the Night. That's mostly thanks to the usual "Slava Claus" chaos, though.

In terms of singular highlights, Wang Cong seeks a big rebound win after her upset loss to Gabriella Fernandes. Ilia Topuria's brother, Aleksandre Topuria, makes his UFC debut against Colby Thicknesse (fantastic name). Lightweight prospect Kody Steele also finally makes his UFC debut.

That's about it. Borschev vs. Nolan is the fight you don't want to miss, while Cong, Topuria and Steele can prove why they're prospects to watch.

Quick picks:

Gabriel Santos (-225) def. Jack Jenkins (+185)

Viacheslav Borschev (-120) def. Tom Nolan (+100)

Wang Cong (-450) def. Bruna Brasil (+340)

Aleksandre Topuria (-375) def. Colby Thicknesse (+300)

Kevin Jousset (-250) def. Jonathan Micallef (+200)

Kody Steele (-220) def. Rong Zhu (+180)

Quillan Salkilld (-650) def. Anshul Jubli (+475)

Hyun-sung Park (-225) def. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel (+185)