The UFC 312 event in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday night was loaded with an extensive 50 minutes of championship bouts, yet a remarkable 45 of them felt somewhat bereft of genuine excitement or suspense. Sean Strickland had professed his intention to seize his sudden title opportunity against middleweight titleholder, Dricus du Plessis. Nevertheless, he primarily seemed non-threatening throughout the fight. Du Plessis ruthlessly dominated him, landing blow after blow, and Strickland’s broken nose midway through the fourth round only served to further illustrate the lopsided nature of the fight.
The co-main event featured Women’s strawweight titleholder Zhang Weili, who faced an initial setback as the strongly-built favorite, Tatiana Suarez, took her down early in the first round. For a brief moment, Suarez appeared to be the wrestling monster she had been hyped up as. However, this phase was ephemeral. As the second round commenced, Weili portrayed herself as an immovable object, effectively repelling all of Suarez’s subsequent wrestling efforts.
Weili retaliated fiercely at Suarez’s double-leg takedowns and compelled her to fight on her own conditions. Often, this meant they were fighting standing up or, when they reached the mat, grappling fiercely from below. Early on, Weili managed to strip Suarez of her assertive wrestling persona, leaving her to grapple with profound, identity-shattering questions in the heat of the bout.
After spending nine dolorous years defying her body’s limitations and forging her path towards a championship, Suarez was left disillusioned, faced with the revelation that she was not the dominant force many had touted her to be. She had fallen short in her quest to be the best. The brutal reality checks athletes were subjected to during UFC 312 were reminiscent of early UFC pay-per-view events where the harsh reality would often outweigh expectations.
The unforgivingly harsh truth was reminiscent of the time when lightweight champion BJ Penn stepped into the ring with Georges St-Pierre at UFC 94. The combination of Penn’s formidable reputation and his trash talk about hospitalizing ‘GSP’ after their first encounter at UFC 58 had created a massive hype around the fight. However, ‘GSP’ retorted by methodically dismantling Penn’s offense.
‘GSP’ gradually chipped away at Penn’s confidence, making the encounter less thrilling with each passing minute. Watching St-Pierre progressively smother Penn’s hopes was akin to observing a candle flame gradually diminished by a enclosing lid. St-Pierre’s masterful domination might have been somewhat disheartening for the spectators, but the subsequent respect garnered for ‘GSP’ swiftly overshadowed any dissatisfaction.
These situations piece together the broader spectacle of the sport, blending the elements of surprise and thrill. We witnessed not one but two reigning champions reaffirming their status as the world’s greatest. Greatness, while often comforting to behold, can at times seem unnerving as it gets closer to perfection. Yet, in these moments, one must simply allow it to unfold.
The UFC 297 encounter between du Plessis and Strickland was notably the closest fight du Plessis had in the UFC, wherein even though Strickland had outpaced him in attacks over five rounds, du Plessis emerged as the winner by split decision. A sequel to the closely contested fight was not highly anticipated, but it materialized anyway. It soon became clear that people had underestimated the gap between the two fighters.
du Plessis had indeed been the superior fighter. Despite spending an entire year figuring out strategies to counteract du Plessis’s unique fighting style, Strickland seemed incapable of mounting any significant threats. His performance was monotonous and lacked the necessary agility or perseverance to initiate a nerve-racking contest. While he managed to withstand the beatdown until the final whistle, the ordeal was unequivocally one-sided in favor of du Plessis.
As for the future, du Plessis can now look forward to more significant bouts. But for Strickland, the path ahead following such a defeat remains ambiguous. It’s equally bewildering for Suarez too, who has built her entire career on gaining control inside the octagon. How does she navigate her path after being comprehensively dictated for 25 minutes by the champion?
Can Suarez find enough resolve to persist after experiencing the demoralizing task of merely reaching the championship bout? This lingering question adds to the arduous journey Suarez would need to undertake on her route back across the Pacific. Would a victory for either du Plessis or Zhang by definitive knockouts have painted a more compelling picture? Perhaps.
But the relentless brutal beatdown they inflicted on their opponents remains etched in memory. When the dust settles in such bouts, there’s often a stark clarity that one cannot contest. It presents the bitter yet undeniable truth about the relative levels in the sport. It’s about who can rise to the occasion, who falters, and the ensuing cold, hard truths.
Sydney’s UFC 312, in many ways, echoed echoes of vintage UFC pay-per-view events. These are the platforms where truths are learned, often the harsh ones, and champions are made or broken. Whether they are the favorite or the underdog, these fighters put everything on the line, for the world to witness the battle of spirits, skill, and sheer will.
Perhaps no finality in the form of knockouts occurred on this night. Still, the sheer display of dominance, skill, and tenacity from the champions created unforgettable scenes. A fight like this serves as a reminder that there are layers to mastery in the fight game, distinct levels of skill, effort, and determination. These are the matches that reveal problems to be solved, ambitions to be realized, and truths to be faced.
It can never be stated enough, there’s no place for hollow excuses when the bouts unfold in this manner. What stands revealed are the stark divisions between different levels of the game. No fight is merely about the exchange of blows. Instead, the enduring truth lies in accepting the hierarchy that exists within the sport, a truth that only such battles can disseminate.