UFC 312: Dricus du Plessis defeats Sean Strickland to retain title; Aussie’s stunning 19-second knockout

GRAPHIC WARNING: Dricus du Plessis broke rival Sean Strickland’s nose on the way to retaining his title in devastating fashion, while a little-known Aussie scored a stunning 19-second knock out to light up UFC 312.

Quillan Salkilld knocks out Anshul Jubli.

Dricus du Plessis has upset thousands of Aussie fans, beating crowd favourite Sean Strickland by unanimous decision in a bloody UFC 312 main event at Qudos Bank Arena.

An overwhelming crowd favourite, Strickland had been gunning for another upset victory in Sydney, 17 months after his shocking win over Israel Adesanya.

However he wore a mask of blood from a badly broken nose after the one-sided decision was announced (50-45, 50-45, 49-46), but still received huge cheers from the Sydney crowd.

“I f****in’ love you guys, man,” Strickland told the crowd. “I broke my nose.

“I was like, ‘That doesn’t feel right’, and I popped it back in place.

“The Dutch man is a tough mother****er, he beat my ass fair and square.

“I love you guys. You fuelled me and I’d break my nose for you every day of the week.”

Meanwhile, du Plessis made his second successful defence of the title, and puts his rivalry with Strickland to rest after winning a controversial split decision in their first bout just over a year ago.

South Africa's Dricus du Plessis (R) opens up Sean Strickland. Picture: Saeed Khan/AFP

Strickland's nose was running after Du Plessis broke it in the fourth round #UFC312pic.twitter.com/8RiBR017XY

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 9, 2025

He wasted no time lining up his next opponent, pointing straight at light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who worked Strickland’s corner.

“Is there nobody else? Is there no one else?” he screamed at Pereira while eyeballing him across the Octagon.

Premier Chris Minns had a prime seat for the PPV blockbuster, with a who’s who of sport and politics all seated at cageside.

NRL bosses Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo sat near Nathan Cleary, Scott Sorensen and Hudson Young.

On the opposite side of the cage, Steve Waugh rubbed shoulders with Roosters captain James Tedesco, Sydney Swans gun Tom Papley and tennis ace Thanasi Kokkinakis.

After a cagey opening three rounds, du Plessis nearly ended it in the fourth. A series of massive right hands broke Strickland’s nose, and left the American in survival mode.

Strickland, who said he’d “fight to the death” all week, lived up to the promise and just wouldn’t go down despite the river of blood running down his face.

“I gave it my all, I’m sorry I couldn’t get him out of here,” du Plessis said afterwards. “Thank you Sydney for showing me love.

“I know you booed me, but to hear cheers at the end of the fight means the world. Sean’s an absolute animal.”

In the co-main event, China’s Zhang Weili was too good for American challenger – and Strickland’s teammate Tatiana Suarez.

An underdog despite being the defending champion, Weili scored a convincing unanimous decision win with two scores of 49-46 and one of 49-45.

Suarez picked up a nasty cut on her right knee when she collided with the bottom of the cage attempting a takedown. It left a red smattering of blood and opened a deep gash as the fight wore on.

South Africa's Dricus du Plessis (R) lands a head kick on Sean Strickland. Picture: Saeed Khan/AFP

It was a good day overall for the local fighters on a card stacked with Aussie talent.

Debutant Quillan Salkilld scored a stunning 19-second knockout of Anshul Jubli in the first fight of the day, dropping his Indian opponent with a massive right hand.

Salkilld – who has already gained a cult following for his love of cigars and for having one of the best moustaches in the UFC – celebrated while Jubli was furious, believing the stoppage was early.

Melbourne debutant Jono Micallef was impressive in a unanimous decision win over the more experienced Kevin Jousset.

Meanwhile Toowoomba’s Tom ‘Big Train’ Nolan admitted he had “fear in his stomach” every day in the lead up to his decision win over Viacheslav Borschev.

Melbourne’s 21-UFC fight veteran Jake ‘The Celtic Kid’ Matthews looked as good as he ever has in a slugfest decision victory over Francisco Prado to open the pay-per-view card.

Now 30 after debuting in the UFC as a teenager, Matthews called out veteran Neil Magny for a fight as he looks to break into the top 15 of the welterweight rankings.

Fighting for the first time since July 2023, Jimmy Crute looked set for a dominant first round win over Rodolfo Bellato, dropping him and nearly submitting him in the opening frame.

But boos rained down from the parochial crowd as the light-heavyweight tussle was ruled a majority draw with scores of 29-27, 28-28 and 28-28.

Wollongong’s Colby Thicknesse had his longtime teammate, Aussie superstar Alex Volkanovski in his corner and was a massive crowd favourite against Aleksandre Topuria.

UFC boss Dana white speaks with Premier Chris Minns.

Nicknamed ‘Slickness’ Thicknesse took the fight on just two weeks’ notice, and put on a valiant display despite dropping decision to the dangerous older brother of featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.

Melbourne crowd favourite, Jack Jenkins had a frustrating day in the world’s most unforgiving office, submitted by rear naked choke in the third round against Gabriel Santos.

Brisbane heavyweight Justin Tafa questioned the referee moments after his first round knockout defeat to Brazilian giant Tallison Teixeira, but replays showed he was felled by a big elbow to the head.

Re-live all the action in our live blog below.