UFC 312 Results: Next Moves for Du Plessis vs. Strickland
UFC 312 closed the second chapter of Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland’s rivalry on February 8, 2025. Du Plessis retained his middleweight title with a five-round unanimous decision, scored 50–45, 50–45 and 49–46.
Du Plessis: title defenses, then a new champion
The UFC 312 victory was Du Plessis’s second successful defense. He had first taken the title from Strickland at UFC 297 in January 2024, then defended it against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. Beating Strickland again gave him a clearer result in their rivalry, but it did not set up an Adesanya title shot: that bout had already happened, and Du Plessis had won it by submission.
Du Plessis’s next title defense came against undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 on August 16, 2025. Chimaev controlled the five-round fight with wrestling and won a unanimous decision, 50–44 on all three cards, taking the middleweight championship. The result ended Du Plessis’s title reign and moved the division into a new chapter.
Strickland: from setback to title return
He returned to the Octagon against Anthony Hernandez in Houston on February 21, 2026. Strickland won by TKO at 2:23 of Round 3, ending Hernandez’s run of momentum and putting himself back into the title conversation.
That result led to Strickland’s first professional meeting with Chimaev, for the middleweight championship at UFC 328 on May 9, 2026. Strickland won a split decision and reclaimed the title. The three scorecards were 48–47, 48–47 and 47–48, a narrow verdict that contrasts with the broader result in his first fight with Du Plessis. It was a major change from the position he occupied after UFC 312: rather than taking a non-title bout with Cannonier, he worked back to another championship opportunity and won it.
Du Plessis beat Strickland, defended against Chimaev, and lost the title; Strickland lost the rematch, stopped Hernandez, then defeated Chimaev to regain the championship. Both fighters remain central names in the middleweight division.
