Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) failed to recapture the middleweight title from Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) on Saturday with a unanimous decision loss in the UFC 312 main event. The result pushes him far away from the title picture, and that means matchmaking gets trickier.

South Africa's Dricus Du Plessis claimed a landslide decision victory in his title rematch with Sean Strickland to retain his UFC middleweight title in Sydney.

If there was any lingering doubt, Dricus du Plessis shut it down for good in his UFC 312 rematch with Sean Strickland.

Dricus Du Plessis met Sean Strickland again in a title fight in the UFC 312 main event, but there was no controversy on the cards this time.

Dricus Du Plessis expected to earn over $1 million for UFC 312 including bonuses and PPV shares. Sean Strickland projected to make up to $1.5 million for the fight, dependent on PPV performance. Zhang Weili and Tatiana Suarez will earn substantial purses for the co-main event at UFC 312, topping estimated earnings.

While Dricus du Plessis has defied the odds throughout his nine-fight UFC run, repeatedly proving both doubters and bookmakers wrong, the reigning UFC middleweight champion would likely be an underdog against undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev.

UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis agrees with the notion that he can drag Khamzat Chimaev into deep waters. After defeating Sean Strickland a second time at UFC 312, Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) is ready to defend his title against Chimaev next.

UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis really hopes undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev is his next opponent.