UFC 297: Strickland vs. du Plessis
The poster for UFC 297: Strickland vs. du Plessis
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateJanuary 20, 2024 (2024-01-20)
VenueScotiabank Arena
CityToronto, Ontario, Canada
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 UFC 297: Strickland vs. du Plessis UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov

UFC 297: Strickland vs. du Plessis is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on January 20, 2024, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[1]

Background

The event will mark the promotion's seventh visit to Toronto and first since UFC 231 in December 2018.[1]

A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between current champion Sean Strickland and former KSW Welterweight Champion Dricus du Plessis is expected to headline the event.[2]

A UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout for the vacant title between former title challenger Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva is expected to take place at the event.[3] The title was vacated when former champion Amanda Nunes announced her retirement immediately after defending her title at UFC 289.[4]

A UFC Featherweight Championship bout between current champion Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria was expected to take place at this event.[5] However, Volkanovski was instead pulled to face Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 294.[6] As a result, this fight was pushed back one month to headline UFC 298.[7]

A light heavyweight rematch between former KSW and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Błachowicz and Aleksandar Rakić was expected to take place at the event.[8] The pairing previously met at UFC on ESPN: Błachowicz vs. Rakić where Blachowicz won the fight after Rakić was rendered unable to continue due to a knee injury.[9] However, Błachowicz withdrew due to a shoulder injury and the bout was scrapped.[10]

A light heavyweight bout between former title challenger Dominick Reyes and Carlos Ulberg was scheduled for this event.[11] However in late December 2023, it was announced that match was off due to an injury sustained by Ulberg.[12] They were rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Brady vs. Luque two months later.[13]

Fight card

Main card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Middleweight Sean Strickland (c) vs. Dricus du Plessis [lower-alpha 1]
Women's Bantamweight Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva [lower-alpha 2]
Welterweight Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott
Middleweight Chris Curtis vs. Marc-André Barriault
Featherweight Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev
Preliminary card (ESPNews / ESPN+)
Bantamweight Brad Katona vs. Garrett Armfield
Featherweight Charles Jourdain vs. Sean Woodson
Bantamweight Serhiy Sidey vs. Ramon Taveras
Women's Strawweight Gillian Robertson vs. Polyana Viana
Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Welterweight Yohan Lainesse vs. Sam Patterson
Women's Flyweight Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Flyweight Malcolm Gordon vs. Jimmy Flick
  1. ↑ For the UFC Middleweight Championship.
  2. ↑ For the vacant UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship.

[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Neil Davidson (2023-11-06). "Middleweight title on the line as UFC returns to Toronto with January card". thestar.com. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  2. ↑ Harvey Leonard (2023-11-06). "Sean Strickland's first title defense announced for UFC 297, Khamzat Chimaev misses out". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  3. ↑ Curtis Calhoun (2023-11-03). "UFC 297: Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva booked for vacant UFC bantamweight title". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  4. ↑ Shakiel Mahjouri (2023-06-11). "UFC 289 results, highlights: Amanda Nunes announces sudden retirement after dominant win over Irene Aldana". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  5. ↑ Jeff Cain (2023-10-09). "Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria set for UFC 297". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  6. ↑ Damon Martin (2023-10-10). "Charles Oliveira out; Alexander Volkanovski now faces Islam Makhachev in UFC 294 main event". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  7. ↑ Colby Faria (2023-11-06). "Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria featherweight title bout headlines UFC 298". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  8. ↑ Staff (2023-11-11). "Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic 2 officially booked for UFC 297 in Toronto". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  9. ↑ Dan Doherty (2022-05-15). "UFC Vegas 54: Aleksandar Rakic injures knee, falls to Jan Blachowicz". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  10. ↑ Nolan King (2023-12-07). "Jan Blachowicz announces surgery, issues emotional statement on UFC 297 withdrawal". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  11. ↑ Farah Hannoun (2023-11-13). "Carlos Ulberg gets wish, meets skidding Dominick Reyes at UFC 297 on Jan. 20". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  12. ↑ Mike Bohn (2023-12-30). "'Frustrated' Dominick Reyes says Carlos Ulberg out of UFC 297 due to injury". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  13. ↑ Staff (2024-01-09). "Dominick Reyes vs. Carlos Ulberg rebooked for UFC Atlantic City in March". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  14. ↑ "UFC 297: Strickland vs. du Plessis". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
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