Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2: How to watch UFC 312, full fight card and more
Here's everything you need to know about how to watch the Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 fight, including the full fight card and how you can stream every match.
Date: Saturday, Feb. 8
Start time: event begins at 6 p.m. ET
Fight time (approximate): main card fights begin at 10 p.m. ET
Location: Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales, Australia
TV channel/streaming: ESPN2 (Prelims), PPV via ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass (early prelims only)
Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland's fight is this Saturday, Feb. 8 at the at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
Makhachev vs. Moicano will be available through pay-per-view in the US on ESPN+. ESPN+ subscribers can opt to add it on to their monthly plan (click here to see how), but note that ESPN+ PPV coverage of the fight only applies to the main card matches that start at 10 p.m. ET and it's a $79.99 add-on to the monthly subscription.
The prelim rounds at 8 p.m. ET will be available to watch on ESPN+ and ESPN2. You can watch the early prelim rounds at 6 p.m. on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass.
ESPN+ PPV, Main Fight Card 10 p.m. ET
UFC Middleweight title: Dricus du Plessis (c) vs. Sean Strickland
UFC women's strawweight title: Zhang Weili (c) vs. Tatiana Suarez
Heavyweight: Justin Tafa vs. Tallison Teixeira
Light heavyweight: Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato
Welterweight: Jake Matthews vs. Francisco Prado
ESPNews/ESPN+, Prelims 8 p.m. ET
Featherweight: Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos
Bantamweight:Colby Thicknesse vs. Aleksandre Topuria
Lightweight: Tom Nolan vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
Women's Flyweight: Wang Cong vs. Bruna Brasil
UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+, Early Prelims 6 p.m. ET
Flyweight: Hyun Sung Park vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel
Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld vs. Anshul Jubli
Welterweight: Jonathan Micallef vs. Kevin Jousset
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UBOs, he said, would not have to honor that. 'The promoter also being the sanctioning body — [this is the] biggest problem people have' because there are appeals processes in the Ali Act, but 'a UBO is not going to have to do that.' Without those protections, this source warned, rankings could be manipulated to lock fighters into long-term deals, with those same fighters being told by an UBO: 'Look, you're getting paid what it says [and] not a penny more.' This source argued that fighter pay minimums under the bill are meaningless in practice: '$25,000 medical [is a] modest improvement, at best; $150 a round [is] inconsequential. You can't even get opponents for that.' And the business model, this source suggested, is designed to dominate the top of the sport. 'Antitrust is when you control all top fighters and the title — that's monopoly.' The endgame, the source said, is for a TV deal paid by boxing financier Turki Alalshikh, a key partner for TKO in boxing, for which TKO get a flat fee. The same source predicted that if the bill passes, other promoters might rush to form their own UBOs — flooding the sport with new titles and further diluting championships. 'What's to stop every other promoter from forming one? Twenty UBO belts is even crazier [than the situation we have right now].' And even if the first UBO is built in the U.S., he said, the real business plan may lie overseas. It is contrary to a revival of American boxing if the biggest bouts from this prospective venture heads to Riyadh, the source said. For this source, and for many of the bill's critics that Uncrowned spoke to, the bottom line is simple: 'Anyone on the business side who is for this is either delusional, ignorant … or getting something,' one source said. 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The split in opinion reflects a deeper truth about boxing in 2025 — this is a sport that is independent but vulnerable. Its best nights still generate global attention and life-changing purses. But those nights are few and far between as the business is too fractured, and the financial stakes make it an irresistible target for corporate consolidation. Whether the bill ushers in a new era of opportunity or accelerates the sport's decline will depend on how — and by whom — the first Unified Boxing Organization is built. If history is any guide, the fighters who step through the ropes will feel the consequences long before the rest of us do.
