UFC 297 Start Time, Full Fight Details!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set to stage its first pay-per-view (PPV) event of the New Year later TONIGHT (Sat., Jan. 20, 2024) from inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, will headline UFC 297, defending his 185-pound belt against budding bad blood rival, Dricus du Plessis. In the ESPN+-streamed co-main event, Raquel Pennington will battle Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant women’s Bantamweight belt.

What’s Hot:

For weeks, Strickland and Du Plessis have been at each others’ throats, even going as far as taking part in a brawl in the crowd during the UFC 296 telecast (see it again here). But, the two have managed to tone it down during fight week, even calling a truce with their trash talking after “Stillknocks” managed to touch a nerve. While some weren’t too thrilled that the sizzle of fight week wasn’t exactly what they expected, it’s good to see the two hard-hitting Middleweights be respectable toward one another.

On to the fight itself. Strickland shocked the world by upsetting Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in Sept. 2023, earning his first-ever taste of UFC gold while extending his win streak to three. It truly was one of the more surprising championship wins of the year — and in recent memory — but “Tarzan” proved that once the cage door slams shut, all bets are off. While Strickland isn’t exactly the man UFC’s public relations machine wants behind the mic (see why here), he does deliver once inside the cage. The one thing that makes Strickland dangerous above all else is his tenacity, his willingness to leave it all in the cage — win, lose or draw. Because of a two-fight skid he suffered at the hands of Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier, it’s easy to forget that Strickland has actually racked up a highly-respectable 9-2 record over his last 11 fights.

As for Du Plessis, he missed out on his initial title fight opting to go on a vacation instead of facing Adesanya at UFC 293. But, that is in the past and “Stillknocks” has the chance to prompt the title to change hands once again. Currently on an eight-fight win streak, Du Plessis is perfect (6-0) under the UFC banner with five finishes. He really showed out when he stopped former UFC Middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, at UFC 290 to earn his championship fight. Strickland may be willing to die in the cage with his technical defensive style, but Du Plessis fights a bit more reckless. It’s hard to bet against Strickland, but Du Plessis is really on a groove at the moment, so don’t be too surprised to hear “and new.”

What’s Not:

Let’s be honest, for it being the first PPV event of the year the card isn’t that deep. Sure, we have two title fights, but the rest of the main card is lacking in star power. But, the bottom line is that the promotion did sell out the event, though that is in large part because the loyal Canadian fans have been pining for a live event for some time now, so any card the promotion put together would have been sold out. Also, several fights were scrapped as a result of injuries (which we will discuss below), so there really isn’t much anyone can do about that.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card:

Alexander Volkanovski was originally pegged to headline this event against Ilia Topuria before the promotion shifted gears. Indeed, “The Great” was enlisted to face Islam Makhachev in a last-minute title fight at UFC 294 (which he lost), paving the way for Strickland to headline his first PPV event as champion. Volkanovski and Topuria will now headline UFC 298 next month.

Injuries:

Jan Blachowicz was set to rematch Aleksandar Rakic at this event before was forced out of the event with a shoulder injury. Carlos Ulberg also suffered an undisclosed injury and his fight against former UFC Light Heavyweight title challenger, Dominick Reyes, was scrapped from the event. They will now face off in March 2024.

New Blood:

Serhiy Sidey and Ramon Taveras will both be making their UFC debuts against each other in what will be a rematch of a Contender Series pairing. Sidey knocked out Taveras in Sept. 2023 to earn his ticket to the big show in the middle of the first round. Taveras went on to get another shot on the show and managed to pick up a 29-second knockout win over Cortavious Romious. Now, he will have a chance to get some revenge on Sidey in their first official fight inside the Octagon. This has to be the first time two fighters will be making their UFC debuts opposite each other after facing off on Contender Series.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

In women’s Bantamweight action, Jasmine Jasudavicius will battle Priscila Cachoeira. Jasudavicius is looking to rebound following her unanimous decision loss at the hands of rising star, Tracy Cortez. Cachoeira also had her two-fight win streak snapped in her last fight, losing to Miranda Maverick via third round armbar seven months ago.

In Welterweight action, Sam Patterson and Yohan Lainesse will square off in a battle of two contenders coming off losses. Patterson suffered his first loss in five years against Yanal Ashmoz, snapping his nine-fight win streak. As for Lainesse, he is just 1-2 in his first three fights with the promotion.

Keeping with the pattern of fighters coming off losses, Gillian Robertson and Polyana Viana will duke it out in a 135-pound showdown. Robertson had her two-fight win streak snapped by Tabatha Ricci, while Viana came up short against Iasmin Lucindo. Both ladies are super talented, they just need to make sure they don’t suffer a two-fight skid to prevent falling further down the pecking order.

After stumbling out of the gates in his UFC debut with a loss to Julian Erosa, Sean Woodson has really turned it around. The Contender Series alum has gone on to rack up a 3-0-1 record under the UFC banner, and now looks to up his resume by scoring a win over Charles Jourdain. “Air” is currently on a two-fight win streak himself, turning it around after suffering back-to-back setbacks at the hands of Shane Burgos and Nathaniel Wood.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Jimmy Flick got off to a nice start to his UFC career, making a splash on Contender Series with an arm-triangle choke win over Nate Smith before making a great debut with a flying triangle choke over Cody Durden (see it here). He has since been knocked out in two straight fights and is in danger of losing his third straight — possibly putting him on the chopping block — when he battles Malcolm Gordon. Speaking of which, Gordon is also in need of a win because he, too, has lost two straight and is just 2-4 in his first six fights with the promotion. This could very well be a “Loser Leaves Town” match.

Interest Level: 6.5/10

The co-main event will crown a new women’s Bantamweight champion as Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva will fight for the strap left behind by Amanda Nunes. Pennington is scorching hot with five straight wins and is currently ranked No. 2 in the division. “Rocky” came up short in her first attempt to win the 135-pound strap, losing to the aforementioned Nunes at UFC 224 more than five years ago. She has been working her way back up ever since, and now has the chance to fulfill her championship dreams for the first time.

As for Bueno Silva, she is occupying the No. 3 spot in the division and had won three straight fights before her last win against Holly Holm was ruled a “No Contest” after she tested positive for a banned substance. Despite that transgression, the promotion went ahead and gave her a title fight anyway. Bueno Silva raised some eyebrows when she admitted that most people weren’t too interested in seeing this title fight, which likely didn’t make UFC’s public relations team too happy. Nevertheless, there will be a new champion and the winner’s first title defense will likely come against former division queen, Julianna Pena, later this year.

In further main card action, Neil Magny will attempt to get back in the winner’s circle after suffering a loss to Ian Machado Garry in his last bout when he faces off against Mike Malott (full preview here). Magny has been rather inconsistent when it comes to the wins as of late, going just 4-3 since 2021. As for Malott, he has had no issue racking up the wins, winning his first three fights with the promotion to extend his win streak to six in a row.

After jumping out to a nice 3-0 start under the UFC banner, Chris Curtis — ranked No. 13 — has struggled a bit. In his subsequent four outings he has only managed to amass a record of 1-2-1. He is coming off a “No Contest” against Nassourdine Imavov, and looks to right his ship against Marc-Andre Barriault (preview here), who is coming off back-to-back wins over Julian Marquez and Eryk Anders.

Kicking things off on the PPV portion of the event will be a pivotal Featherweight showdown between Arnold Allen and Movsar Evloev (full preview here). Allen is currently tied for the No. 3 spot at 145 pounds with Brian Ortega. Allen had his 12-fight win streak snapped by Max Holloway in April 2023, his first loss inside the Octagon. As for Evloev, the world “loss” is not in his dictionary because all the man does is win, racking up a perfect record as a professional (17-0), which includes going 7-0 under the UFC banner. He is currently ranked No. 9, but a win will undoubtedly push him all the way into the Top 5.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC 297 Fight Card:

UFC 297 Main Event On ESPN+ PPV:

185 lbs.: UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis

UFC 297 Co-Main Event On ESPN+ PPV:

135 lbs.: Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant bantamweight title

UFC 297 Main Card On ESPN+ PPV (10 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott
185 lbs.: Chris Curtis vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
145 lbs.: Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev

UFC 297 ‘Prelims’ Card On ESPNN/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):

135 lbs.: Brad Katona vs. Garrett Armfield
145 lbs.: Charles Jourdain vs. Sean Woodson
135 lbs.: Serhiy Sidey vs. Ramon Taveras
115 lbs.: Gillian Robertson vs. Polyana Viana

UFC 297 Early ‘Prelims’ Card On Fight Pass/ESPN+ (6:30 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Yohan Lainesse vs. Sam Patterson
135 lbs.: Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Priscila Cachoeira
125 lbs.: Malcolm Gordon vs. Jimmy Flick

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 297 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPNEWS at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 297: “Strickland vs. Du Plessis” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.