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.

The UFC returns to Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia tonight (February 8) with a UFC 312 card that features two title fights at the top of the bill.Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 The main event will see Dricus du Plessis attempt to defend his middleweight belt for the second time in a rematch with Sean Strickland.

There is no debate after UFC 312, Dricus du Plessis is the rightful UFC middleweight champion. Questions remain about who the promotion's best 185-pounder is. Fortunately, those questions could be answered this year.