The second pay-per-view event of 2025 went down on Saturday night at the Qudos Arena in Sydney, Australia and while it lacked depth from a 'star power' viewpoint, the presence of 2 title fights at the top of the card left plenty of talking points in the wake of the show.
Let's take a look at some fights we need to see following UFC 312:
Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev
For the fourth time in a row, Dricus Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) beat a former UFC champion as he defended his middleweight title for the second time. The South African only needs one more title defense to draw level with Chris Weidman and Robert Whittaker in the list of all-time 185 lb greats, although Anderson Silva (10) and Israel Adesanya (5) still lead the pack by some margin.
Achieving that elusive third title defense will surely prove to be a more difficult task than Saturday's cakewalk against Sean Strickland, who offered little resistance to the barrage of strikes that "Stillknocks" threw his way.
While Du Plessis floated the idea of moving up to 205 lbs to face Alex Pereira, the presence of Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) looms large over the middleweight division. When "Borz" manhandled former champion Robert Whittaker with such ease at UFC 308 in October, he catapulted himself into pole position for the next title shot at 185 lbs.
Sean Strickland vs. Israel Adesanya
After promising fans an epic war in Saturday's main event, Sean Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) instead surrendered perhaps his final opportunity to win back the UFC middleweight belt in the meekest of fashions.
With a litany of rising stars entering the title discussion at 185 lbs (Chimaev, Nassourdine Imavov, Caio Borralho), Strickland is as far away now from the belt as he has ever been.
There are still some high-profile fights available to the 33-year-old however, including a possible rematch against the man he beat in 2023 to win the title. Israel Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) is only a week removed from his loss at the hands of Imavov and would relsih the opportunity to gain his revenge on his former foe.
Zhang Weili vs. Virna Jandiroba/Yan Xiaonan Winner
Zhang Weili (26-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) cemented her status as one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the sport today with her scintillating performance in Saturday's co-main event against Tatiana Suarez.
"Magnum" dealt with the grappling threat Suarez presented with relaitive ease, nullifying all but one of her attempted takedowns over the course of their 25-minute battle. Alongside her impressive performance on the microphone throughout the week, her efforts in the Octagon affirmed her position among the elite names at the forefront of the sport.
Although there has been plenty of talk about a possible superfight aginst flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, in reality there are viable contenders lying in wait for both ladies in their respective divisions.
Manon Fiorot awaits Shevchenko, while Virna Jandiroba (21-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) stands out as the only challenger at 115 lbs that Weili has yet to beat. Jandiroba will face Yan Xiaonan (19-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) at UFC 314 in April, and should former title challenger Xiaonan emerge victorious, a case could also be made for her to get another shot at her Chinese compatriot's belt.
