UFC 312 results, highlights: Dricus du Plessis shatters Sean Strickland's nose en route to retaining title

Du Plessis set his sights on being the UFC's pound-for-pound best fighter with the light heavyweight champ in attendance

There will be no cries about robberies after UFC 312. Dricus du Plessis left no doubt who the better man was as he beat Sean Strickland more decisively than he did at UFC 297.

Last year, Strickland and his fans bemoaned that Du Plessis won an undeserved split decision to claim the UFC middleweight title. Du Plessis and Strickland fought to a second decision on Saturday, albeit with a far more decisive outcome. Du Plessis nearly swept Strickland on the scorecards (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) to improve 2-0 in their series. 

Du Plessis predicted a knockout, submission or dominant decision when speaking to CBS Sports before the fight. He accomplished the latter with a constant onslaught of offense. The defending champion was relentless in his approach. Du Plessis walked down Strickland, threw all manner of attacks and outstruck him in four of five rounds. 

Du Plessis' biggest moment came in Round 4 when he shattered Strickland's nose with a long-range right hand. "DDP" aggressively pursued a finish, but a panicked Strickland was able to avoid disaster and settle back into the fight. Strickland's nose gushed with blood, but he told his corner in between rounds that he managed to reset it by himself. 

Du Plessis can look forward to a high-profile title defense after beating former champions Israel Adesanya and Strickland. UFC CEO Dana White previously anointed Khamzat Chimaev as the next title challenger. Nassourdine Imavov is also a viable challenger after KOing Adesanya last week. But it seems du Plessis has sights set on bigger obstacles.

"Is there no one else? Is there no one else?" Du Plessis shouted into the microphone post-fight while staring down UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Periera, who cornered Strickland for their fight in Sydney, Australia. 

"I am a top three pound-for-pound fighter as of tonight, and I'm going for that number one spot."

Meanwhile, women's strawweight champion Zhang Weili did much of the same to her latest title challenger in Tatiana Suarez. Zhang survived a first-round takedown from Suarez as the American was not able to do much of anything with it. From there, the champion put on a masterful striking display as her speed proved to be way too much for Suarez to handle and react to. Zhang even threw in a late takedown in Round 4 for good measure as her full skill set was on display throughout the 25 minutes where she even threatened a late submission on the grappling specialist.

CBS Sports was with you the entire way on Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from the UFC 312 below.

UFC 312 card, results

• Dricus du Plessis (c) def Sean Strickland via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
  
• Zhang Weili (c) def. Tatiana Suarez via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)
• Tallison Teixeira def. Justin Tafa via first-round knockout (elbow, punches)
  
• Rodolfo Bellato vs. Jimmy Crute ends in majority draw (28-28, 28-28, 29-27)
• Jake Matthews def. Francisco Prado via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Gabriel Santos def. Jack Jenkins via third-round submission (rear naked choke)
• Tom Nolan def. Viacheslav Borshchev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Wang Cong def. Bruna Brasil via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Aleksandre Topuria def. Colby Thicknesse via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Rongzhu def. Kody Steele via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Jonathan Micallef def. Kevin Jousset via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Quillan Salkilld def. Anshul Jubli via first-round knockout (punch)

[Feb 9, 2025 at 1:16 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Dricus du Plessis def. Sean Strickland via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) to retain the UFC middleweight championship

[Feb 9, 2025 at 1:13 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland -- Round 5: Strickland landed a good jab early in the round. du Plessis went back to leg kicks as he tried to wait for an opening without presenting one to the challenger. A two-punch combo landed for Strickland. du Plessis missed a spinning head kick and tried to follow up with a flurry of punches but nothing really landed in that combination. Strickland connected with a jab but was met by a pair of right hands. du Plessis connected with a body kick. du Plessis connected with a head kick after that. Strickland avoided a takedown attempt. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 du Plessis (49-46)

[Feb 9, 2025 at 1:07 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland -- Round 4: du Plessis threw a good right hand to the body before missing on a three-punch combination. du P;lessis connected with a hard punch and Strickland began grabbing at his nose, which was pouring blood, likely as a result of a break. du Plessis started pressing forward, with Strickland defending more than putting out offense. Strickland connected with a two-punch combination and then ate a right hand. du Plessis landed a good right hand to the face. Strickland connected with a good right hand. Another big right landed for du Plessis. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 du Plessis (39-37)

[Feb 9, 2025 at 1:01 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland -- Round 3: du Plessis landed another good body kick early in the round and a right hand to the head moments later. Strickland landed another jab as he continued to work off that punch, finally following up with two good punches behind it. Strickland connected with a straight right hand and another jab. du Plessis landed a hard spinning backfist. Strickland landed a good jab and a right hand behind it before a spinning elbow from du Plessis. Strickland landed a good looping right hand. du Plessis drove in for his first takedown of the fight through Strickland bounced right back up. Slightly shaded toward Strickland. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Strickland (29-28 du Plessis)

[Feb 9, 2025 at 12:55 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland -- Round 2: Strickland tried to work off some body kicks in the opening seconds of the round but du Plessis landed a body kick of his own. Strickland landed a good looping right hand. A Strickland jap and a good right hand came after a few more du Plessis leg kicks. du Plessis landed a good jab of his own. A du Plessis head kick landed, though not with full force. That same kick landed again 30 seconds later. Another close round but another where the harder shots seemed to come from du Plessis. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 du Plessis (20-18)

[Feb 9, 2025 at 12:49 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland -- Round 1: du Plessis charged to the center of the Octagon from the open. Strickland stood firm, poking with jabs. du Plessis fired off hard kicks to the legs before coming upstairs with a kick to the head. Strickland connected with a good jab to the head as du Plessis continued to fire his leg kicks. du Plessis threw a spinning back kick to the body before landing a lead left hook and continued mixing in a few head kicks. Another Strickland jab landed well. A hard du Plessis right hand landed up top. A tight round but one shaded slightly to the champion. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 du Plessis

[Feb 9, 2025 at 12:22 am ET · Shakiel Mahjouri]

Official result: Zhang Weili (c) def. Tatiana Suarez via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45) to retain the UFC women's strawweight championship.

[Feb 9, 2025 at 12:20 am ET · Shakiel Mahjouri]

Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez -- Round 5: Zhang lands an overhand right before buckling her with a lead leg kick. Suarez gets a beautiful entry on the takedown but Zhang's hips keep her upright. Zhang lands numerous hard strikes in the clinch as Suarez continues hunting. Suarez is cut over her right eye. The champ lands a body kick, knee to the midsection and an elbow up top. Suarez presses her to the fence. Zhang scrambles in the top position. The champion has defended 14 consecutive takedowns since giving up one in the first round. Zhang takes Suarez's back. Zhang closes the round landing ground strikes on her overmatched challenger. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Zhang (49-46 Zhang overall)

[Feb 9, 2025 at 12:14 am ET · Shakiel Mahjouri]

Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez -- Round 4: Zhang catches Suarez with a one-two before taking her down. Zhang is the first person to take down Suarez in eight UFC fights. Zhang latches onto an arm triangle choke but Suarez doesn't look bothered. Suarez retains full guard to break the hold. Suarez tries to snatch a guillotine choke in the scramble but Zhang winds up in side control. Zhang spends the remainder of the round landing potshots from the top position. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Zhang (39-37 Zhang overall)

[Feb 9, 2025 at 12:08 am ET · Shakiel Mahjouri]

Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez -- Round 3: Suarez throws a pair of light calf kicks. The challenger blocks a hard head kick. The champ snaps her opponent's head back with a lightning-fast one-two. Zhang rocks Suarez with a hard right hand! Suarez threw a naked low kick and paid for it. Suarez initiates a pair of desperate takedowns. They aren't successful but Suarez manages to press Zhang to the fence to slow the champ's momentum. Zhang rattles off an uppercut and left hook in the clinch. Suarez's takedowns are becoming progressively more telegraphed. Zhang with a hard right hand to the body. Suarez trips Zhang with an inside kick but can't capitalize on it. Suarez lands a decent left hand but can't secure the subsequent takedown. Zhang is swinging hard and just falling short. Zhang lands a pair of nasty elbows in the clinch. Suarez misses a labored head kick by a mile. This fight is going downhill fast for the challenger. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Zhang (29-28 Zhang overall)

[Feb 9, 2025 at 12:01 am ET · Shakiel Mahjouri]

Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez -- Round 2: Zhang starts backing Suarez off. The champ lands a nice inside leg kick. Suarez backs Zhang to the fence and shoots a double-leg takedown. Zhang scrambles and winds up on top. Suarez has a noticeable gash on her leg. I don't know what caused it but perhaps she scraped it against the fence. Zhang lands a barrage of small punches in the clinch before breaking off. Zhang cracks Suarez with a jab-cross. Suarez lunges for a takedown and presses Zhang to the fence. Zhang overpowers Suarez and winds up on top again. That was a decisive round in favor of the champ. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Zhang (19-19 overall)

[Feb 8, 2025 at 11:56 pm ET · Shakiel Mahjouri]

Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez -- Round 1: Zhang takes the center immediately. Zhang lands a front kick to the knee. The champ lands a punch on the way in but walks right into Suarez's grappling. Suarez snatches the body lock takedown and takes Zhang down. The challenger settles into side control. Zhang recovers the butterfly guard. Zhang throws elbows from the bottom. Suarez lands body punches as the crowd boos. Zhang scrambles to her feet but ends up in a front headlock. Suarez jumps the guillotine choke but Zhang quickly escapes. Zhang lands punches to the body. A difficult round to score. Zhang landed better ground strikes, but Suarez had far more time to work her punches. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Suarez