Video! Strickland, Du Plessis Separated During Intense Seasonal Staredown

A collection of some of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts (MMA) came together for UFC’s 2024 seasonal press conference earlier tonight (Fri., Dec. 15, 2023) live on YouTube from Las Vegas, Nevada, which included some pretty intense staredowns.

While UFC is gearing up for its final event this weekend with UFC 296 live on ESPN+ PPV from “Sin City” the promotion is still trying to pump up the 2024 schedule. That’s why they utilized a special press conference on Friday to showcase some of the biggest matchups of Q1 next year.

Leading the way is a middleweight scrap between current UFC champion Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis, which goes down at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It will be Strickland’s first title defense after knocking off former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya back at UFC 293.

Check out their faceoff from Friday’s presser:

Next up is a featherweight meeting between pound-for-pound standout and current UFC champion, Alexander Volkanovski, and undefeated contender, Ilia Topuria, which is set for UFC 298 on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, California. This will be the first time fight fans are seeing Volk compete after the 145-pound king tested is luck again against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 and got knocked out.

Volkanovski’s staredown with Topuria can be seen below:

Adding to the mix is a bantamweight clash between UFC champion Sean O’Malley and rival Marlon Vera. The two first met back at UFC 252 which ended in a TKO win for Vera. Their rematch is scheduled to go down at UFC 299 on Mar. 9 from Miami, Florida.

The two shared an intense staredown at the end of Friday’s presser:

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To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.