The UFC’s social media channels announced that the promotion is heading back Down Under for UFC 312, which is due to take place on February 9 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
The promotion last held an Australian event at UFC 305 in Perth, where Dricus Du Plessis defended the undisputed UFC middleweight title against former champion Israel Adesanya, with “Stillknocks” claiming the victory via fourth-round face-crank submission.
The event also saw Kiwi flyweight contender Kai Kara-France cement his place as a top contender in the 125-pound division with a first-round knockout of Australian former title challenger Steve Erceg.
Adesanya headlined three of the last four UFC cards in Australia, having also main evented against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney, and against Robert Whittaker at UFC 243, which remains the UFC’s highest-attended event, with 57,127 fans packing the stands in Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.
Say g'day to summer down under ☀️🇦🇺#UFC312 is coming to @Sydney_Sider!#FeelNewSydney | Feb 09 | Details at https://t.co/A5j1LxWSHS pic.twitter.com/CU46DNUloL
— UFC (@ufc) October 16, 2024
This time, the UFC returns to Sydney for a Q1 pay-per-view, and with no bouts announced for the card so far, it remains to be seen who’ll be featuring at the top of the fight card.
Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski could be in line for a return, while Kara-France and Erceg may both potentially have a part to play on the fight card, probably in separate fights.
Du Plessis may also be a possibility, with the UFC’s plans for an event in Africa still to be announced. While those plans are still ongoing, a fight in Australia would appear to be the best landing spot for a Du Plessis title defence, with a rematch against Sean Strickland the most likely pick.
