- Written by Benny P (UFC Insider)
With the announcement of another card in Australia, I get to live out my masculine fantasy of matchmaking half-naked men and women fighting in a cage for entertainment. The main event is perhaps the most difficult part of booking, as there are two big fights happening at UFC 308, which will paint a clearer picture for what to expect at UFC 312. Those fights are Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker and Ilia Topuria defending his UFC Featherweight Championship against Max Holloway.
Option 1: Jack Della fights for Gold, DDP vs Strickland II & Volk vs Lopes
Khamzat Chimaev beats Rob Whittaker and Ilia Topuria beats Max Holloway at UFC 308 on October 27th. In this scenario, I expect neither Khamzat nor Ilia to make an appearance at UFC 312.
Ilia may be reserved for a rumoured Spain card in April, and Khamzat may sit out due to the inactivity that has plagued the latter half of his career. In this case, I expect Dricus Du Plessis to defend his middleweight strap against Sean Strickland, and Alexander Volkanovski to fight Diego Lopes in either an interim title fight or a regular 5-round co-main event. A dark horse option would be Belal Muhammad defeating Shavkat and Jack Della Maddalena getting a chance to claim UFC Welterweight gold in Sydney, though that feels like a fantasy rather than reality. But hey, a man can dream.
Option 2: Whittaker Chases Gold & Holloway vs Volkanovski IV
Rob and Max both win. In this case, we get Robert Whittaker trying to regain UFC gold against the last man to defeat him, Dricus Du Plessis, and Max Holloway aiming for a fourth fight against Alexander Volkanovski.
Option 3: Whittaker vs. Du Plessis and Volkanovski vs. Lopes.
Option 4: Strickland vs. Du Plessis and Holloway vs. Volkanovski.
Feature Fight: The Return of Israel Adesanya
I think we will see the return of former UFC Middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya. As for his opponent, there are many options. Timeline-wise, a matchup with rising Brazilian threat Caio Borralho, who is on a 16-fight winning streak and coming off a dominant performance over Adesanya's old foe Jared Cannonier, would make sense. If for some reason Caio can’t make UFC 312, the next best option would be French Dagestani Nasourdine Imavov. If neither man is available, my dark horse pick would be Anthony Hernandez, who is on a six-fight winning streak with impressive performances.
Rest of the Main Card: Della vs Usman & Erceg vs...
I would love to see Jack Della Maddalena take on former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. With a few reports looking to back this one up. This matchup makes all the sense in the world, with the winner likely cementing themselves as the next contender for the UFC welterweight championship.
Opening up the main card, Steve Erceg (a former UFC Flyweight title contender) should fight the always-active Charles Johnson. Johnson brings enough experience to challenge Erceg without being a guaranteed win, making for fireworks to kick off UFC 312.
Prelim Headliner: Tai Tuivasa vs. Mick Parkin
To end the prelims with a bang, Western Sydney’s own Tai Tuivasa should make his return against Mick Parkin, possibly the most English man in existence. This fight would be a big step up for Parkin and a step down in competition for Tuivasa after his losses to heavyweight monsters like Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov.
Rest of the Prelims: The Rising Stars...
Jack Jenkins vs. Andre Fili: A featherweight banger with Fight of the Night potential.
Cody Haddon vs. Kyung Ho Kang: After an impressive debut, Haddon should face the crafty UFC veteran Kang.
Josh Culibao vs. Hyder Amill: An explosive featherweight matchup to open the prelims.
Early Prelim Feature Fight: Jake Matthews vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Jake Matthews making his return to Australia after five years should face Daniel Rodriguez, a matchup that Matthews has called for multiple times on social media.
Additional Early Prelims:
Jono Micallef vs. Kiefer Crosby: A welterweight scrap that makes sense, especially with Crosby's willingness to travel.
Tom Nolan vs. Zhu Rong: A test for Nolan as he looks to rise up the UFC ranks.
Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio: A grappler vs. striker matchup with Crute making his return.
Quillan Salkilld vs. Darius Flowers or Mitch Ramirez: Salkilld’s UFC debut could be a good fight against either.
Colby Thicknesse vs. Charalampos Grigoriou: If Thicknesse wins his next two regional fights, a UFC debut in NSW would be fitting against Grigoriou.
Thank you for indulging my matchmaking madness. We’ll see how realistic these predictions turn out in the coming months.
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For inquiries, hit me up on Instagram @benp_2001.
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