The UFC took two title fights to the "land down under" for the promotion's second pay-per-view event of the year. Zhang Weili turned back the challenge of Tatiana Suarez to successfully defend the strawweight championship with a one-sided decision in the co-main event, while middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis extended his winning streak to nine by smashing Sean Strickland's nose on his way to a unanimous decision in the main event. Neither fight delivered much by way of drama but how did the rest of the card fare? Did it make up for its lack of star power with exciting fights?
Not really. Nine of the 12 fights went the distance.
After each pay-per-view, we break down and assess the quality of each fight and the fight card itself based on skill displayed, competitiveness and what is at stake. Andreas Hale takes a look at all 12 fights of UFC 312, including both title fights and a surprising winner for Fight of the Night.
Lightweight: Rongzhu vs. Kody Steele
Result: Rongzhu defeats Steele by unanimous decision
Grade: A-
This was an absolute banger that put a lot of pressure on the rest of the fight card. Rongzhu and Steele engaged in a battle where violence was absolutely on the menu. Rongzhu dissolved Steele's "0" with high-level striking that busted up the previously unbeaten fighter. But Steele refused to allow his former training partner to get away without a response. At 24 years old, with an obscene 32 pro fights, Rongzhu continues to improve and will be one to keep an eye on.
Strawweight: Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez
Result: Zhang defeats Suarez by unanimous decision
Grade: B
Zhang turned in a masterful performance against a woman who was thought to be the uncrowned champion. It turns out that there are levels in MMA and Zhang is perched high above the rest of the division. After being taken down in the first minute, Zhang would go on to defend the next 14 takedown attempts and batter Suarez until the final bell. It wasn't competitive but the fight is worth watching because Zhang's greatness is to be witnessed and appreciated. Suarez may eventually get her turn but we are in the era of Zhang.
Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld vs. Anshul Jubli
Result: Salkilld defeats Jubli by first-round KO
Grade: B
All Salkilld needed was 19 seconds and one bludgeoning right hand to turn Jubli's lights out. Salkilld's performance deserves an A but we are grading fights and this wasn't much of one. Also, the stoppage may have been a little premature. Nevertheless, Salkilld's UFC debut was impressive and certain to have people talking.
Welterweight: Jonathan Micallef vs. Kevin Jousset
Result: Micallef defeats Jousset by unanimous decision
Grade: B
Make sure you turn the volume up for this fight. The sound of Micallef's kicks slamming into Jousset's body were absurd. Neither fighter did much by way of defense and opted to trade punches and kicks throughout their 15-minute scrap. The visual of Jousset's body morphing into a bruised radish from each strike will leave you shaking your head. Somehow, Jousset made it to the final bell and remained competitive in this fun fight.
Heavyweight: Tallison Teixeira vs. Justin Tafa
Result: Teixeira defeats Tafa by first-round TKO
Grade: B-
Teixeira bullied his way forward, slammed an elbow into Tafa's face and finished the job with follow-up strikes in 35 seconds. Tafa looked confused by what happened but this wasn't a bad stoppage. Teixeira could be an interesting addition to the heavyweight division.
Featherweight: Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos
Result: Santos defeats Jenkins by third-round submission
Grade: B-
This impressive comeback finish from Santos is worth watching. After surviving a head kick and denying the Australian fans a finish from their fellow countryman, Santos went to work. He used his grappling, threatening a triangle choke finish and shifting Jenkins into defense mode. A clinical second round from Santos led to a final round where a front kick to the face floored Jenkins. The Aussie may have survived the kick but the grappling that followed with a deep rear naked choke finished the job.
Middleweight: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland
Result: Du Plessis defeats Strickland by unanimous decision
Grade: C
It's no secret that a Du Plessis fight isn't going to be pretty, but his latest title defense was a relatively ugly affair. It lacked any significant drama, outside of Du Plessis obliterating Strickland's nose. Strickland failed to mount up any substantial offense and fell victim to the champion's awkward angles and volume punching. People will still wonder how Du Plessis wins fights but until somebody stops him, we'll have to give the South African credit while on a nine-fight winning streak. Unfortunately, as far as title fights go, this rematch wasn't memorable.
Bantamweight: Colby Thicknesse vs. Aleksandre Topuria
Result: Topuria defeats Thicknesse by unanimous decision
Grade: C
The older brother of featherweight champion Ilia Topuria made his presence felt in his UFC debut with a methodical overpowering of Thicknesse. It felt like Topuria could have stepped on the gas at any moment to pick up a finish but remained economical, walking down Thicknesse and drilling him with singular body punches. The highlight of the fight came in Round 1 when an overhand right from Topuria wobbled Thicknesse, who had former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in his corner, and the Georgian put a stamp on the round with a beautiful German suplex. Aside from that, it wasn't much of an exciting encounter.
Lightweight: Tom Nolan vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
Result: Nolan defeats Borshchev by unanimous decision
Grade: C
Nolan started quickly and appeared to be close to securing an early submission but Borshchev was resilient and fought his way back in the second round with his standup and top control. But Nolan was busier and his early work impressed the judges enough to earn a unanimous decision. An inoffensive fight but not one you have to go out of your way to watch.
Women's Flyweight: Wang Cong vs. Bruna Brasil
Result: Wang defeats Brasil by unanimous decision
Grade: C-
What could have been a scintillating affair between strikers ended up being a technically sound kickboxing match easily won by Wang. It wasn't particularly exciting as Wang picked apart Brasil by mixing up her striking approach. Brasil, who had shown marked improvement as part of The Fighting Nerds camp, had no answers for Wang and was outlanded in total strikes 90 to 27. Unfortunately, this wasn't competitive but a nice bounce-back win for Wang.
Welterweight: Jake Matthews vs. Francisco Prado
Result: Matthews defeats Prado by unanimous decision
Grade: C-
There is nothing particularly bad to say about this fight. It happened and it was mostly a standup affair. Matthews pressured Prado and won a majority of the striking exchanges but the fight lacked any significant drama. Matthews got the win and that's all there is to say about the fight.
Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato
Result: Crute and Bellato ends in majority draw
Grade: C-
After a fast start from Crute, this battle between 205-pounders ran out of gas. It looked as if Crute was going to steamroll Bellato. Instead, Crute was spent and labored for the next two rounds as Bellato slowly clawed his way back into the fight. The result was appropriate for this fight. Neither did enough to earn a win. You can skip it.
UFC 312 fight card grade: C-
After a hot start, UFC 312 delivered nine decisions. Between the one-sided title fights and lack of star power, this card ended up being a struggle to get through. No fight was particularly awful but rest assured that nothing on this card will be talked about by the end of the year.