Heading into UFC 312 over the weekend at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, the outcome of both championship matchups that topped the bill felt difficult to forecast, as the main event between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland was a rematch of an incredibly close fight and the strawweight title clash featured champion Weili Zhang defending against unbeaten challenger Tatiana Suarez, who had long been forecasted to claim championship gold.
But when the combatants stepped into the Octagon and the action got underway, the bouts that were closely matched on paper turned into one-sided contests where the champions showed their class and the challengers had no way to stem the tide.
Now, after both Du Plessis and Zhang retained their titles with emphatic efforts, it’s time to dissect what the rest of the year could look like for the entrenched rulers of the middleweight and strawweight divisions, as well as ponder what might come next for the vanquished challengers.
OPTIONS APLENTY FOR DU PLESSIS
Khamzat Chimaev should be next to challenge Du Plessis for the middleweight title given his unbeaten record and the terrifying boogeyman vibes he rekindled by running roughshod over Robert Whittaker en route to a first-round submission win over the former champion last year in Abu Dhabi.
But as is always the case with the undefeated contender, availability is always an issue. In each of the last two years, Chimaev has only fought once, in October, in Abu Dhabi, with injuries and illnesses limiting him to just five appearances over the last five years after opening his UFC tenure with three wins in two months.
Du Plessis said at his media availability following his win over Strickland that Chimaev is next, and that absolutely has to be the direction that UFC looks first, even if it means waiting until October to have another middleweight title fight. It’s a fascinating fight given the divergent stylistic approaches, and has become even more compelling with unbeaten challengers installed as betting favourites falling to champions in each of the first two pay-per-view main events of the year (first Umar Nurmagomedov then Suarez).
Should the UFC commit to pitting Du Plessis against Chimaev, Nassourdine Imavov should just put his feet up for the next couple months before preparing himself to serve as the backup for the next championship contest.
The Russian-born standout cemented his standing as a legitimate contender in the division with a second-round stoppage win over Israel Adesanya two weeks back in Saudi Arabia, running his winning streak to four in the process. He turns 30 at the start of next month, has a full complement of weapons in his arsenal, and has appeared to be more settled, more poised inside the Octagon of late, all of which adds to his viability as a serious threat at the top of the division.
Accepting that he still has work to do at middleweight, you can’t deny the intrigue of seeing Du Plessis venture up to 205 pounds for a potential clash with light-heavyweight Alex Pereira champion, whom he sorta kinda called out with his “Is there no one else?” line in the Octagon following his win over Strickland.
“Poatan” must first get through Magomed Ankalaev next month at UFC 313, but should that happen, the only thing left for the menacing Brazilian mauler would be fantasy matchups with the champions in the weight classes above and below him. Both are fascinating options, and should very much be pencilled in as possibilities if not towards the tail end of this year, than for early 2026.
STRANGE SPOT FOR STRICKLAND
What do you do with Strickland after UFC 312 if you’re the UFC?
The former champion didn’t really threaten Du Plessis at any point during their rematch, and for all his “fight to the death” bravado pre-fight, he continues to be a very one-dimensional, one-note competitor inside the cage.
When he’s rolling, Strickland is very good and suffocating to deal with, but if you get him moving backwards and behind on the scorecards, there isn’t a lot he can do to shift momentum and rally back because the power isn’t there and for some reason, he remains committed to doing nothing other than boxing.
What complicates things further is that Strickland is now in championship purgatory as long as Du Plessis has the belt, but has also already faced several of the other names positioned near the top of the division. Looking at the current middleweight rankings, he’s beaten Imavov, Adesanya, Brendan Allen, and Paulo Costa, while losing to Jared Cannonier. Given his lack of upward mobility at the moment, having him face off with any of the top contenders doesn’t make a lot of sense.
A bout with Robert Whittaker would certainly be entertaining and could make for a quality five-round main event on a future Fight Night card in either the United States or abroad, but I kind of like the idea of using the former titleholder as a litmus test for an emerging talent like Bo Nickal more than simply cycling him into a pairing with another tenured veteran with limited forward options.
Nickal is unbeaten, an outstanding wrestler, and someone that has to take a big step forward in the division at some point, and Strickland profiles as an outstanding person to do that against. His status as a former champion and top-five fixture make him a clear step up in competition for the former All-American and national champion wrestler from Penn State, but his limited power means there is less worry of getting cracked with something gnarly if you’re looking at things from the Nickal side.
If not Nickal, a date with Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez if he beats Brendan Allen in Seattle later this month and keeps rolling would be a very interesting matchup as well.
AN IDEA FOR INTERNATIONAL FIGHT WEEK
Generally speaking, I’m not a big fan of champions wanting to move up in search of a second title, largely because it seems like the first thing everyone says when they win a belt now. Though I understand the financial and legacy implications, my preference is always to see champions defend their titles a couple times, putting some wins under their belts before targeting a move up in weight in pursuit of “Double Champ” status.
Zhang has done that now, as her dominant win over Suarez was her third consecutive successful title defence during her second reign atop the division, leaving her with no immediate challenger waiting in the wings.
The only fresh option ranked in the top five is Virna Jandiroba, but she’s being made to navigate a gauntlet of contenders in order to land a title opportunity, and has to get by Yan Xiaonan next month in order to potentially garner a title opportunity. And while she would certainly merit an opportunity if she were to get by the recent title challenger at UFC 314, a matchup between her and Zhang isn’t exactly the kind of marquee championship bout that is going to electrify audiences.
But do you know what would? Pitting Zhang against the flyweight champion.
Now, Manon Fiorot should be next in line at 125 pounds to face Valentina Shevchenko for the title, as she has done everything asked of her thus far and patiently waited while Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso coached last season of The Ultimate Fighter before finally concluding their trilogy at UFC 306…
However, as the commentary team said at the close of Saturday’s broadcast, Fiorot and her team better be hustling to get that bout agreement signed and a matchup in place, because a showdown between Zhang and Shevchenko to determine the top pound-for-pound female fighter in the sport right now is an absolute blockbuster and feels like a perfect International Fight Week co-main event.
Could you imagine Jon Jones versus Tom Aspinall in a heavyweight title unification bout with Zhang versus Shevchenko as the championship appetizer? Sign me up.
Even if Zhang has to wait for Shevchenko and Fiorot to fight, her next fight should be for the flyweight title. She’s done everything there is for her to do in the 115-pound weight class; now it’s time to chase a legacy fight.
WHAT COMES NEXT FOR SUAREZ?
It’s admittedly odd to be unsure what the future holds for someone that just suffered the first loss of their professional career in a title fight against a dominant champion where they entered as the betting favourite, but the way the UFC 312 co-main event played out and the shell-shocked look on Suarez’s face as her dreams crumbled before her eyes leaves me wondering where she goes from here.
From a talent standpoint, the 34-year-old remains one of the top strawweights in the world and she could very easily hustle back, log a couple quality wins, and be right back in the championship conversation. Heck, it might not even take too many wins if Zhang moves up and vacates the title. She would be favoured over everyone else in the division at the moment, and a dominant effort over someone like Mackenzie Dern or the winner of the forthcoming clash between Amanda Lemos and Iasmin Lucindo would get her moving in the right direction with a ton of momentum right away.
But that gash on her knee looked painful and her injury history doesn’t necessarily suggest a quick return to action is likely. Additionally, what kind of psychological toll does a fight like that take on a person, especially one who had never been beaten and got beaten at her own game?
Suarez didn’t have a Plan B on Saturday night.
She didn’t even really have a Plan A 2.0 when she was stuck on bottom in the grappling interactions, and while she’s outstanding when she’s the hammer, the fact that she struggled mightily the first time she was forced to be the nail raises questions about her preparations, because she had to know it wasn’t going to be an easy day at the office in Australia.
It will be interesting to see when we hear from Suarez and what she has to say following this fight, and both could be a window into what her future may hold.
If she’s intent on making a relatively quick return to action, Dern or the Lemos-Lucindo winner make a ton of sense in terms of trying to maintain position in the pecking order.
But that feels like a big if.
NEW POSSIBLE STAR AT HEAVYWEIGHT
Tallison Teixeira is going to get a push because heavyweight is shallow, he’s won eight straight in the opening round, and he mashed an elbow in Justin Tafa’s face like it was nothing.
The towering Brazilian is still green, but his size makes him a problem, especially because he seems to know how to use his length a little more than some previous UFC tall boys (shouts to Stefan Struve), so don’t be surprised to see him get hustled up the ranks and thrown into a fight with someone in the Waldo Cortes Acosta, Kennedy Nzechukwu, Jhonata Diniz range next.
Heavyweight gets real grimy outside of the top 10, so because he carries that Dana White’s Contender Series tag and dominated on Saturday, I fully expect Teixeira to get every opportunity to make a rapid rise into the rankings.
from Sportsnet.ca
via i9bet
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