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Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.au
It’s official: the UFC is heading back to Sydney in February 2025.
In what will be the city’s first event since September 2023, Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena will host UFC 312 on Feb. 9 [Feb. 8 ET].
Sean Strickland defeated Israel Adesanya to claim the middleweight title at UFC 290 at the venue, but local fans will be hoping there is an Australian headliner this time around.
And there are a few options to consider.
So let’s play matchmaker for UFC 312!
ILIA TOPURIA/MAX HOLLOWAY VS. ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI, FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
This would be the dream result for organisers, with former division champion Volkanovski desperate to fight in his home state, which he hasn’t done since 2017. Volkanovski hasn’t fought since February of this year when he suffered a stunning second-round KO by Topuria, ending what had been a five-fight streak as the champion. While Volkanovski thought he was deserving of an immediate rematch with Topuria, the title shot was instead handed to Holloway.
The likelihood of this fight coming to fruition will be clearer in just over a week’s time, after Topuria and Holloway have squared off in Abu Dhabi. Would Topuria really be prepared to travel to the other side of the world, to Volkanovski’s backyard to boot, for his second defence if he does defeat Holloway next weekend? Conversely, what would the interest levels in Holloway vs. Volkanovski 4 should the Hawaiian reclaim the strap he last held in 2020?
They are questions Dana White and his fellow UFC brass will have to weigh up over the next couple of months, but it will likely take a lot more than the subtle art of persuasion if the Spaniard’s reign extends into the new year.
The wildcard for Volkanovski would be a non-title fight against Diego Lopes — who called out the former champ following his win over Bryan Ortega — but the Australian is already on the record as saying he is “fighting for the title next”. Lopes will meanwhile serve as the backup for Topuria and Holloway next weekend.
It may be that Volkanovski has to make a tough choice between fighting on home soil and fighting for the title.
“If it was guaranteed in Sydney, it would be Ilia, I want that rematch,” Volkanovski told ESPN when asked who he preferred to face for belt. “Who do I think will win [in Abu Dhabi]? Max. Who do I prefer to win because it would be more likely me fighting here? Max.
“I would like to fight both of them for different reasons, right? It’s just Max winning guarantees me more of a chance of fighting here in Sydney; Ilia’s definitely more of a fight I want because I want that win back, but I don’t know if that’s likely anytime soon or in Sydney.
“But money talks, maybe they can get him here. He’s made it clear he wouldn’t fight in Sydney, but the UFC said ‘never count him out, so we’ll see.”
DRICUS DU PLESSIS VS. ROBERT WHITTAKER, MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
If Volkanovski is not the headline act in his home state, then perhaps that honour could fall to a bona-fide Sydneysider Robert Whittaker, who resides just a 45-minute drive from Qudos Bank Arena. A second showdown with Du Plessis, whom Whittaker lost to in 2023, would however require several puzzle pieces to fall into place.
The first of those for Whittaker is non-negotiable: Defeat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308. This fight was supposed to happen back in June, before Chimaev was forced to withdraw due to “health issues”. With Chimaev scratched, the improving Ikram Aliskerov was catapulted in as the Russian’s replacement and then just as quickly dispatched by Bobby Knuckles with a Round 1 KO.
If Whittaker does defeat Chimaev in the Middle East, a further issue remains in the fact that Dana White has repeatedly indicated Strickland was first in line for the title shot, despite Du Plessis declared the Australian was “deserving” of the shot following his first title defence and triumph over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth in August.
So it may take a backflip from White, injury, or some other twist, as well as a Whittaker victory next weekend first and foremost, for us to see “The Reaper” and Du Plessis throw down for a second time.
Regardless, it appears we will see Du Plessis defend the middleweight strap in Sydney.
WHO ELSE COULD FEATURE ON THE MAIN CARD IN SYDNEY?
While Volkanovski and Whittaker are the chief drawcards in Sydney, there are a number of other fighters from Australia, and across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand, who would garner plenty of interest in February next year.
Jack Della Maddalena sits at the top of that list with the West Australian on the comeback trail from a broken arm that forced him to pull out of a planned bout in Perth at UFC 305. Complications in surgery from the injury he suffered in a gripping comeback defeat of Gilbert Burns at the start of the year denied the Aussie the chance to fight in his home town in the UFC for the second time, but with no fight on the books as yet it may be that he ends up fighting on the other side of the country just six months later.
With Belal Muhammad’s first welterweight title defence lined up for Shavkat Rakhmonov in December, is there a world where Della Maddalena could face former champion Leon Edwards in a title eliminator? That would be pitting the No. 1 and No. 4 ranked welterweight contenders against one another and, what makes this potential showdown even more spicy, is the fact that it would draw on the traditional Australia-England rivalry.
If neither of the dream title matchups can be made, Della Maddalena vs. Edwards would serve as a decent headliner instead.
Elsewhere, Kai Kara-France is also looking for a fight following his devastating KO victory over Steve Erceg in August. The Kiwi was recently passed up for a title shot against Alexandre Pantoja for newcomer Kai Asakura at UFC 310, a decision that didn’t go down well at Kara-France’s City Kickboxing base. With a fight between Amir Albazi and Brandon Moreno already booked for a couple of weeks’ time, Kara-France’s best hope of a fight might be to run it back with Brandon Royval, whom he lost to via submission back in 2020.
Beyond that, Dan Hooker has already indicated that a February return to the Octagon is off the table as his wife is due to give birth, while CKB teammate Carlos Ulberg is due to face Volkan Ozedemir in a huge light heavyweight showdown next month. The turnaround might be a little too tight for the “Black Jag” if that fight extends any further than the first round.
That would leave the likes of the aforementioned Erceg, Jack Jenkins, Junior and Justin Tafa, Casey O’Neill, recent Contender Series graduates Quillan Salkilld, Cody Haddon and Jonathan Micallef, and fan favourite Tai Tuivasa to shoulder the local interest, though Bam Bam’s pulling power is starting to wain after five straight defeats.
After disappointing cards in 2017 and 2023, Sydney is crying out for a UFC lineup that really sets the heart racing.
UFC 312 could do just that — or prove a bust entirely.