Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland will come head-to-head for a second time at UFC 312 this weekend.
The duo met at the start of 2024, and Du Plessis walked away victorious, claiming the middleweight title in the process.
Their first bout was an epic contest that went to the South African through a split decision.
So, the rematch in Australia promises to be quite the occasion.
Elsewhere, women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili will defend her title against Tatiana Suarez – the official number one-ranked in her weight division.
Du Plessis vs Strickland: Date and how to follow
This middleweight title showdown will take place on Saturday, February 8.
It is being held at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
The preliminary action is set to get going at 10pm, with the main event expected at 3am on Sunday morning.
The action will be shown on TNT Sports and discovery+ in the UK, with the early preliminary rounds available on the UFC Fight Pass. More info here.
talkSPORT and talkSPORT.com will keep you up to date with all the action, while you can also follow all the build-up on talkSPORT’s MMA YouTube channel.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
Du Plessis vs Strickland: UFC 312 fight card
Subject to change
Main card
- MAIN EVENT: Dricus Du Plessis vs Sean Strickland – for UFC middleweight title
- Zhang Weili vs Tatiana Suarez – for UFC strawweight title
- Justin Tafa vs Tallison Texeira
- Jimmy Crute vs Rodolfo Bellato
- Jake Matthews vs Francisco Pardo
Preliminary card
- Jack Jenkins vs Gabriel Santos
- Tom Nolan vs Viacheslav Borshchev
- Wang Cong vs Bruna Brasil
- Colby Haddon vs Aleksandre Topuria
Early preliminary card
- Jonathan Micallef vs Kevin Jousset
- Rong Zhu vs Kody Steele
- Quillan Salkilld vs Anshul Jubli
- Park Hyun-sung vs Nyamjargal Tumendemberel
Du Plessis vs Strickland 2: What has been said?
Strickland is clearly feeling worried ahead of his rematch because he’s publicly called for Du Plessis to not wrestle.
He said: “Listen, Dutchman. I’m going to need you to be a f***ing man.
“I’m gonna need you to stand up, not go to your knees, and we’re gonna need to f***ing strike like men.
“I know you like to wrestle and you like to f***ing choke people out.
“But I’ll make a pact with you, you make a pact with me that we stand up like f***ing men and we settle this s*** like men.”
Meanwhile, Adesanya has backed Du Plessis to come out on top again and maintain his unbeaten UFC record.
He said: “If I’m going to give the edge to anyone, it would be Dricus in that fight.
“Even though Sean will definitely try to walk him down again, the one thing about Dricus is [he’s] just so awkward.
“He would throw just to stop me in my tracks. I remembered when I sprawled on him and my head hit the mat.
“I tried to kick him on the ground and I was like: ‘Get up,’ and I advanced, and straight away he just went (swings an overhand).
“I had to stop, and it stopped my momentum. I had to reset. So, he’s just weird, man.
“He’s like the best s*** fighter in the world. He’s so good. I can’t even fault him for it.”