UFC 312: Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Daniel Cornmeat
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
Introduction
UFC 312: Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 took place on Saturday, February 22, 2025 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. It was the rematch of the UFC 297 title fight — which du Plessis had won via split decision in January 2024. The rematch was far more decisive: du Plessis retained the middleweight title via unanimous decision (49-46 ×3), going 2-0 in the series. In the co-main, Jack Della Maddalena defeated Shavkat Rakhmonov to become the UFC welterweight champion on home soil in Australia, one of the most celebrated Australian MMA moments in history.
The card was held in front of a sold-out Sydney crowd of 21,000 and produced an estimated 750,000 pay-per-view buys. The Australian narrative — Della Maddalena winning the welterweight title on home soil — drove the event’s post-fight coverage as much as the du Plessis-Strickland result.
Contents
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, February 22, 2025
📍 Venue: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
👥 Attendance: 21,000 (full capacity)
📺 PPV Buys: ~750,000
🏆 Main Event: Dricus du Plessis (c) vs. Sean Strickland — UFC Middleweight Championship (185 lbs)
✅ Result: Du Plessis def. Strickland via Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
🥇 Co-Main: Jack Della Maddalena def. Shavkat Rakhmonov — KO (punches) — R4 — Welterweight Title (new champion)
The Build-Up
Du Plessis had won the original UFC 297 fight via split decision in January 2024 — a close result that many scored for Strickland on the night. Du Plessis then defended against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 (dominant UD). Strickland had won his UFC 302 co-main over Costa (30-27) to confirm his rematch credentials. Du Plessis was -175; Strickland was +140.
In the co-main, Perth-born welterweight Jack Della Maddalena challenged Shavkat Rakhmonov — 18-0-1 (the UFC 310 majority draw with Belal Muhammad) — for the vacant welterweight title (Muhammad had vacated/relinquished). The fight was held on Australian soil; Della Maddalena had the most passionate home-crowd support of any welterweight in UFC Australian history.
Main Event: Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2
This time there was no close call. Du Plessis controlled four of five rounds with his wrestling pressure and his volume striking. Strickland's forward pressure — which had made the first fight competitive — was neutralised more efficiently in the rematch; du Plessis's takedown sequences disrupted Strickland's rhythm in rounds one, three, and five.
Final scorecards: 49-46, 49-46, 49-46. A unanimous decision with a margin that definitively closed the debate about the UFC 297 split. Dricus du Plessis retained the middleweight title for the third time, 2-0 in his series with Strickland. He has remained the UFC middleweight champion into mid-2025 with a 23-2 career record.
Co-Main Event: Della Maddalena vs. Rakhmonov — The Title Fight
Jack Della Maddalena stopped Shavkat Rakhmonov via KO at 3:22 of round four in front of 21,000 Australian fans in Sydney. The fight was the most anticipated welterweight title fight since Belal Muhammad's UFC 304 win over Leon Edwards. Rakhmonov — 19-0-1 — entered as the favourite; Della Maddalena's home crowd and his power boxing made him the sentimental pick.
Rounds one through three were competitive — Rakhmonov's submission threats from clinch created sustained danger, while Della Maddalena's boxing accuracy was landing clean combinations. Round four: Della Maddalena landed a clean right hand at 3:00 that wobbled Rakhmonov; he pressed with follow-up combinations and a left hook at 3:15 dropped Rakhmonov. Ground strikes brought referee Marc Goddard in at 3:22. Jack Della Maddalena was the UFC welterweight champion. The Sydney crowd erupted.
Full Results
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Dricus du Plessis (c) def. Sean Strickland — Unanimous Decision (49-46 ×3) — Middleweight Title
Jack Della Maddalena def. Shavkat Rakhmonov — KO (punches) — R4, 3:22 — Welterweight Title (new champion)
Carlos Ulberg def. Aleksandar Rakic — KO (punches) — R2 — Light Heavyweight
Justin Tafa def. Hamdy Abdelwahab — KO (punches) — R1 — Heavyweight
Tyson Pedro def. Anton Turkalj — TKO (punches) — R2 — Light Heavyweight
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Manel Kape def. Victor Altamirano — TKO (punches) — R2 — Flyweight
Josh Culibao def. Elves Brener — TKO (punches) — R1 — Featherweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Performance of the Night: Jack Della Maddalena — $50,000 for the fourth-round KO of Shavkat Rakhmonov to win the welterweight title on home soil in Australia.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Dricus du Plessis — $50,000 for the dominant 49-46 unanimous decision win over Sean Strickland, 2-0 in the series.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Carlos Ulberg — $50,000 for the second-round KO of Aleksandar Rakic, extending his win streak to five.
Records & Milestones
• Du Plessis-Strickland series settled 2-0 du Plessis (SD at UFC 297, UD at UFC 312).
• Jack Della Maddalena became the first Australian-born UFC welterweight champion in promotion history.
• Rakhmonov's first professional MMA loss — 19-0-1 record ended with the UFC 312 KO defeat.
• The largest UFC card ever held at Qudos Bank Arena — 21,000 attendance, the most since the UFC 243 (Whittaker vs Jones) era at the venue.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 312 is remembered as the night Australian MMA achieved its highest-ever moment. Jack Della Maddalena — a Perth-born welterweight who had built his title shot through UFC wins over Gilbert Burns, Gunnar Nelson, and others — won the welterweight title in front of a sold-out Sydney crowd with a fourth-round KO of the 19-0-1 unbeaten Rakhmonov. The crowd response was the most sustained and emotional in Australian UFC history.
For du Plessis, the Strickland 2 UD closed the series debate definitively and reinforced his status as a genuine middleweight era champion. His 2-0 run over Strickland — split decision and then 49-46 sweep — is the clearest statement of improvement across a rematch series in the modern middleweight division.
FAQ
Did du Plessis improve significantly from the first Strickland fight?
Yes. The gap between UFC 297 (split decision) and UFC 312 (49-46 sweep) reflects two developments: du Plessis's wrestling game had become more efficient and disruptive since the first fight, and his understanding of Strickland’s forward-pressure volume game allowed him to time takedown sequences earlier. The 49-46 margin in the rematch is the clearest possible indicator that du Plessis had made the larger improvements in the intervening 13 months.
How does UFC 312 compare to UFC 311?
UFC 312 drew approximately 750,000 PPV buys versus UFC 311 (700,000) five weeks earlier — a 50,000-buy gain driven by the Della Maddalena Australian narrative and the du Plessis-Strickland rematch storyline. The Sydney card significantly outperformed the Australian time-zone expectation on domestic viewership numbers.
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