UFC 312: Five Things We Learned

UFC 312: Five Things We Learned

UFC 312 is in the books. The event gave us several massive lessons about the title fights that sat atop the bill. Let’s discuss the biggest lessons we learned from UFC 312.

Dricus Du Plessis Separates Himself From Sean Strickland

The UFC 312 main event featured a middleweight title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland. The champion, Du Plessis, won a decision to retain the title. The performance separated him from Strickland and put a stamp on their pair of fights.

This bout was not particularly close. The final scorecards were 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46 with all in favor of Du Plessis. That numerical difference is indicative of how the fight went. Du Plessis was much more active while also landing the bigger shots. The highlight of the bout was a massive right hand from Du Plessis that broke Strickland’s nose.

In this fight, it felt like Du Plessis made the adjustments required to find more success while Strickland failed to get off the starting blocks. The improvements from Du Plessis mixed with Strickland’s uninspired performance to create an uncompetitive fight.

The UFC 312 main event separated Du Plessis and Strickland. When the pair first fought Du Plessis got his hand raised in a split decision. That led to a large amount of controversy. All of that was put to the wayside after Du Plessis left no doubt in the rematch.

Sean Strickland Has An Uninspired Performance

On the losing side of the UFC 312 main event, Strickland provided an uninspiring performance that left a ton of questions.

The puzzling aspect of Strickland’s performance starts at the initial bell. It felt like he completely ignored the game plan and allowed Du Plessis to get out to an early lead. This was largely because Strickland did not work to be the pressuring fighter. Du Plessis was walking forward and was aggressive. Meanwhile, Strickland did not counter and he did not attempt to pressure when Du Plessis stopped pressuring. It is also puzzling that Strickland did not throw more volume. In theory, he has the cardio to throw heavy volume for five rounds. That skill was ignored.

Strickland’s performance got worse when Du Plessis broke his nose in the fourth round. At that point in the fight, it felt like Strickland’s goal became survival. That never ends well.

In the past, Strickland has had poor performances. This is the worst of the bunch, however.

Zhang Weili Sets A New Standard For Herself

In the UFC 312 co-main event, Zhang Weili put on a masterclass against Tatiana Suarez. Weili earned a clear decision victory to defend the women’s strawweight title.

In the first round, things looked bad for Weili. Suarez landed an early takedown and established several minutes of top control. Although, the tide quickly turned in the second round. Weili began defending takedowns, landing big shots on the feet, and working to the top position. This allows her to nearly finish the fight on two occasions. The first came with a massive hook. Later in the fight, she nearly submitted Suarez with an arm triangle.

This was a sensational performance from Weili. In previous title defenses, she was forced to deal with a few moments of adversity. In this fight, those moments were minimal. In this fight, she looked much more unbeatable. That is the level Weili has reached. It is no longer a question about winning or losing. Instead, it’s about how dominant she looks in victory. It is not a fair standard, but it comes from a place of praise.

It’s Doubtful Tatiana Suarez Will Reach Her Potential

The UFC 312 co-main event, showed an unfortunate reality about Suarez’s career. It seems nearly impossible for her to reach her potential in MMA.

Suarez’s MMA career started with a ton of hype because of her wrestling background. It was all deserved praise. At the start of her run, she felt destined to hold UFC gold. That now feels like an unlikely outcome.

Suarez was simply outmatched in the UFC 312 main event. Her premier skill was not good enough to dominate the fight in that realm. That killed her chances of winning because her overall game was not well-rounded enough.

The worst part of Suarez’s form is that it is probably due to injuries. The three years away from competition spent battling injuries took a toll. Plus, she has dealt with smaller injuries since her return. Now, at 34 years old, it will be more difficult for her to make the improvements required to be a championship-level fighter.

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Aleksandre Topuria Earns His Respect

On the UFC 312 prelims, Aleksandre Topuria defeated Colby Thicknesse in his UFC debut. Topuira, the older brother of UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, proved he has the skills to pair with his last name.

Topuria fights similarly to his brother. The overall ideology and thought process behind his skills match Ilia’s. the pair are both boxing-heavy fighters with a distinct boxing style.

Topuria is not at the level of his younger brother. That pair do not have the same level of power and Aleksandre had a more difficult time landing highly impactful shots. That is not a bad thing, however. If every prospect was judged in comparison to Ilia Topuria, none would meet the standard. That said, Topuria is an interesting prospect should could make waves in the bantamweight division.

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