Sean Strickland of the United States, left, fought South Africa's Dricus Du Plessis in a middleweight title bout during UFC 297 in January.
Image: Vaughn Ridley /Getty Images via AFP
After many debates about whether Johannesburg or Cape Town should host Dricus du Plessis' next UFC middleweight title defence, the South African's battle with bitter rival Sean Strickland will eventually take place in Australia next year.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced over the weekend that Du Plessis will have his second consecutive fight Down Under after defending his crown against Israel Adesanya in Perth, Western Australia in August.
UFC 312 will take place at Sydney's SuperDome on February 8, 2025, where Du Plessis' blockbuster fight against Strickland will be the main event on the fight card.
There was a lot of talk that Du Plessis' next fight will be in South Africa, especially after UFC boss Dana White said before the Perth event that, if Du Plessis won, his next title defence would be in his home country.
White, however, was worried about the logistical issues involved in hosting such an historic event in Africa for the very first time. The Cape Town Stadium and the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg were mooted as possible hosts for an UFC event, but both stadiums don't have a roof.
There was a proposal during a City of Cape Town council meeting for R30 million roof for Cape Town Stadium for the event. But that idea never saw the light of day.
It seems like having the event in a stadium with no protection from the elements was a deal-breaker from the start for White.
“You know how bad I want this. I’ve been trying to get this done. The arena situation there is tough. That’s been the challenge with Africa as a whole. The place where we’d have to do it is outdoors, and you know how I feel about that,” White said a few months ago after Du Plessis' win.
“We are trying to figure out the weather situation. One of the things I am hearing is that wind is a big problem. We’ve done it before, but nothing can affect the fight’s outcome. Wind, rain, bugs, too much humidity… a lot of things can interfere with a fight.”
Sydney's SuperDome, which was purpose built for the 2000 Olympic Games, has a capacity of 21,000 according to Wikipedia.
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