UFC 312 – Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis LIVE: American star looks to enact revenge

Australian lightweight rookie Quillan Salkilld finished his opponent Anshul Jubli in just 19 seconds.

It’s the second quickest knockout by a lightweight debutant in the UFC’s history.

The crowd is their feet for the final round. Both women are throwing big shots. Zhang lands a clean right hand! Suarez is trying to get her rival down – but is having no luck so far. Zhang landing again – knees, elbows and punches! Suarez is showing heart but she can’t keep this pace. Zhang has total control and is dominating this bout. Zhang is on top with 30 seconds to go – she’s hoping to finish Suarez off. The bell sounds.

Suarez lands good shot early in the round. Zhang replies with a takedown and rains down punches from on top. Suarez has a deep gash on her knee. Zhang has an arm triangle but Suarez escapes. The champ is looking stronger and stronger as this fight progresses. Zhang is controlling the action and is the fresher fighter. She finishes the round on top. Another round for the champ. Onto the fifth!

Great kick from the champ to open the round. She’s landing punches now too. Big right hand! Suarez is backing up. Zhang has a clear speed advantage. Suarez is now trying to get Zhang to the floor – but the champ defends. Zhang continues to land her straight shots. Excellent movement from Zhang too – very light on her feet. Zhang’s round.

Suarez’s left eye is starting to swell. Worth keeping an eye on. Both women are grappling again. Zhang has got Suarez on her back and elbowing. Both fighters up now. Suarez trying to grapple, but the champ is defending well. Zhang lands a punishing 1-2 combo and looks to be settling in. Zhang looks the more energetic fighter now. Big momentum shift with a minute to go. Suarez is looking a little tired out here. Good round for the champion.

Blistering start to this bout. Suarez is trying to use her range to keep the champ at bay. Suarez gets Zhang down with her first attempt. Zhang looks comfortable on her back as she tries to elevate her opponent. Both fighters working for position. Zhang is landing shots from her back. Zhang now on top. She’s trying to come back and win this round. Bell sounds.

Champion Zhang Weili and Tatiana Suarez are in the Octagon. Both fighters looking very determined. We are expecting fireworks.

Undefeated challenger Tatiana Suarez has overcome tremendous challenges in her life to be here today.

Many have tipped her to win UFC gold over the years, but shocking injuries – and thyroid cancer – have kept her sidelined.

Dethroning the 115-pound champion today is a monumental task, but Suarez says she’s up to it.

“I think I can do that to anybody in the world,” Suarez told press this week when asked if she could break Zhang.

“I’m super relentless. I keep going. I have a really good gas tank. The thing that separates me from a lot of people is just my relentlessness. My wrestling is second to none.”

Teixeira pays tribute to Tafa after the fight and says he planned the shots that finished Tafa.

Both men throwing bombs early. OH! Teixeira drops Tafa with an elbow after landing a knee. Fight over!

Tafa is protesting the stoppage. Huge win for the debutant.

Big-punching Tafa is hoping to soon enter the top-10 rankings at heavyweight with a win today.

He will have his work cut out for him against talented Dana White’s Contender Series signee Tallison Teixeira. Expect fireworks!

Judges call it a majority draw with 29-27, 28-28 and 28-28 on the cards.

Bellato looks fresher this round. Both men swinging big. Crute dives for a takedown – Bellato stuffs it. Bellato landing great leg kicks. Heavy shots. Bellato takes the Aussie down, both men looking exhausted. Back up now. Crute breathing through his mouth. Crute starting to land good cominations. Bellato finishes strong. Maybe his round. Close fight.

Bellato looks shell-shocked. Crute looks dialled. Both fighters connecting early. Crute landing the better shots. Bellato landing good shots the Crute’s torso. Both men fighting with hands down. Crowd is singing for the local! Both fighters standing in the pocket and exchanging. Bellato is starting to pick it up and land. Crute is starting to look tired. Bellato not worrying about defence in any way. Fantastic fight! We go to the third. Very close round!

Slow start to the round – both fighters cagey. Crute is landing with kicks. Crute gets Bellato on his back. Dangerous position for the big Brazilian. Crute landing good shots from on top as Bellato tries to get up. Bellato eats several elbows and can’t escape. Crute battering him. Bellato has only landed one strike this round. Both fighters up now. Oh! Crute drops Bellato with huge right hand. The bell sounds.

The Aussie light-heavyweight hasn’t set foot in the Octagon since July 2023 when he gave up the sport.

After some time away to get his mind right, Crute found himself back in the gym and as hungry as ever.

“I’m going to knock him out,” he told ESPN. “I’m going to go in there and go to war. That’s it.”

Crute is the underdog here against Brazil’s Rodolfo Bellato – and he certainly has something to prove.

Matthews: ‘I love fighting in front of the Aussie fans!’

Matthews comes out looking to finish the fight. He’s walking down Prado throwing hard shots. It’s mainly boxing though – neither fighter kicking enough. Prado starting to look tired with three minutes to go. Oh! Matthews lands big left hook! Buckles Prado for a moment. Prado is still upright and has clinched up. Matthews lands again with the right hand. The bell sounds.

Matthews comes out with agression. Landing big shots. Blood is trickling into Prado’s eye. Prado lands some good clinch knees, but the Aussie has shrugged them off. Matthews has hardly taken a backward step. Matthews lands excelllent uppercut as Prado comes in. Prado tries to tie Matthews up on the cage – the ref is calling for more action. Matthews is on his toes and landing good combos. Another strong round for the Australian fighter.

Both fighters trade shots early. Matthews’ jab is finding a home. He’s looking very sharp. Prado is wading in to overcome the reach disadvantage. Both fighters clinch – Aussie gets the better of it. Matthews seems to have a speed advantage. Prado lands some nice leg kicks. Prado takes Matthews down. Both are back up. Prado is cut.

Great start for Matthews.

Tonight’s main card opens with a tough welterweight encounter where Victorian Jake Matthews will look to stabilise himself in the UFC.

The 30-year-old Aussie star has been part of the promotion since 2014 with an astonishing 20 fights.

Prado told press this week that Matthews’ best days are behind him – but Matthews believes his decade of experience will help him get the job done.

Dricus du Plessis (c) vs Sean Strickland

Zhang Weili (c) vs Tatiana Suarez

Justin Tafa vs Tallison Teixeira

Jimmy Crute vs Rodolfo Bellato

Jake Matthews vs Francisco Prado

Excellent performance from Santos after being dropped by head kick early on.

He eventually submitted the Aussie in the third after landing a brutal front kick.

The crowd is screaming for popular Aussie Jack Jenkins as he readies to fight Gabriel Santos.

Main card not too far away.

Nick and Peter Daicos are enjoying the show in Sydney.

Queenslander Tom Nolan gets the W over Viacheslav Borshchev with a slick decision victory.

Expect big things from this 6’3 lightweight!

Chinese MMA star Wang Cong got her hand raised against Bruna Brasil with a decision victory (30-27 x 3). Clinical performance.

Two of the biggest rivals in the sport, Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya, are currently seated together watching UFC 312!

Not the most exciting fight of the day – but Aleksandre Topuria has done enough to claim the win by decision.

Rong Zhu defeated Kody Steele via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Jonathan Micallef defeated Kevin Jousset via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Quillan Salkilld defeated Anshul Jubli via TKO (punches) – Round 1

Aussie UFC superstar Alex Volkanovski is working the corner of teammate Colby Thicknesse today.

Thicknesse is making his debut against Aleksandre Topuria, the older brother of Volk’s heated rival, featherweight champ, Ilia.

Victorian welterweight Jonathan Micallef has notched up a W on debut against Kevin Joussett.

He dropped Joussett in the first round with a head kick and went on to win the fight by decision.

‘Keep an eye on me!’ he declared afterwards. We certainly will.

Two belts on the line today at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.

Dricus du Plessis (c) vs Sean Strickland (middleweight)

Zhang Weili (c) vs Tatiana Suarez (strawweight)

Justin Tafa vs Tallison Teixeira (heavyweight)

Jimmy Crute vs Rodolfo Bellato (light heavyweight)

Jake Matthews vs Francisco Prado (welterweight)

Jack Jenkins vs Gabriel Santos (featherweight)

Tom Nolan vs Viacheslav Borshchev (lightweight)

Wang Cong vs Bruna Brasil (flyweight)

Colby Thicknesse vs Aleksandre Topuria (bantamweight)

Kody Steele vs Rongzhu (lightweight)

Jonathan Micallef vs Kevin Jousset (welterweight)

Quillan Salkilld vs Anshul Jubli (lightweight)

And welcome to Daily Mail Australia’s coverage of today’s UFC 312 card from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.

We have an excellent main card in store, headlined by a pair of must-see matchups.

In the co-main event, China’s Zhang Weili will defend her straw-weight title against top-ranked challenger Tatiana Suarez.

Then, in our main event Sean Strickland gets his shot at getting back his belt from Dricus Du Plessis in a highly-anticipated middleweight rematch.

So stick with us for all the news and updates for what promises to be an exciting event.