| UFC 297: Strickland vs. du Plessis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 297: Strickland vs. du Plessis | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | January 20, 2024 | |||
| Venue | Scotiabank Arena | |||
| City | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |||
| Attendance | 18,559 [1] | |||
| Total gate | $7,898,695 [1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 297: Strickland vs. du Plessis was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 20, 2024, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [2]
The event marked the promotion's seventh visit to Toronto and first since UFC 231 in December 2018. [2]
A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between the then current champion Sean Strickland and former KSW Welterweight Champion Dricus du Plessis headlined the event. [3]
A UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout for the vacant title between former title challenger Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva took place at the event. [4] The title was vacated when former champion Amanda Nunes announced her retirement immediately after defending her title at UFC 289. [5]
A UFC Featherweight Championship bout between current champion Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria was expected to take place at this event. [6] However, Volkanovski was instead pulled to face Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 294. [7] As a result, this fight was pushed back one month to headline UFC 298. [8]
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. [9] 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. [10] However, Błachowicz withdrew due to a shoulder injury and the bout was scrapped. [11]
A light heavyweight bout between former title challenger Dominick Reyes and Carlos Ulberg was scheduled for this event. [12] However, in late December 2023, it was announced that match was off due to an injury sustained by Ulberg. [13] They were rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Brady vs. Luque two months later. [14]
At the weigh-ins, Ramon Taveras and Malcolm Gordon missed weight. Taveras weighed in at 139.75 pounds, three and three quarters pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. Gordon weighed in at 127.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. Both bouts proceeded at catchweight with Taveras forfeiting 30% and Gordon 20% of their purses, which went to their opponents Serhiy Sidey and Jimmy Flick respectively. [15]
Prior to the event, UFC president Dana White announced that the event had set new records for the highest grossing arena gate in UFC history and Canada. [16]
During the event's broadcast, former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar was announced as the next "modern wing" UFC Hall of Fame inductee during June's International Fight Week festivities in Las Vegas. [17]
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Dricus du Plessis | def. | Sean Strickland (c) | Decision (split) (47–48, 48–47, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Women's Bantamweight | Raquel Pennington | def. | Mayra Bueno Silva | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–45) | 5 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 2] |
| Welterweight | Neil Magny | def. | Mike Malott | TKO (punches) | 3 | 4:45 | |
| Middleweight | Chris Curtis | def. | Marc-André Barriault | Decision (split) (30–27, 28–29, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Movsar Evloev | def. | Arnold Allen | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Garrett Armfield | def. | Brad Katona | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Sean Woodson | def. | Charles Jourdain | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (139.75 lb) | Ramon Taveras | def. | Serhiy Sidey | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Gillian Robertson | def. | Polyana Viana | TKO (punches) | 2 | 3:12 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Sam Patterson | def. | Yohan Lainesse | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 2:03 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Jasmine Jasudavicius | def. | Priscila Cachoeira | Submission (anaconda choke) | 3 | 4:21 | |
| Catchweight (127.5 lb) | Jimmy Flick | def. | Malcolm Gordon | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 2 | 1:17 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. [19]
Jan Maciej Błachowicz is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. A professional since 2007, he also competed for KSW and is the former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion. He is the second Polish champion in UFC history, after Joanna Jędrzejczyk, and the first male Polish champion. As of August 1, 2023, he is #4 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.
Sean Strickland is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Middleweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2008, he is a former middleweight champion of the King of the Cage. As of January 23, 2024, he is #1 in the UFC middleweight rankings, and as of February 20, 2024, he is #13 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Alexander Volkanovski is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Featherweight Champion. He is also a former Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) Featherweight champion. Prior to his UFC debut, Volkanovski competed as a professional boxer in 2015. As of 20 February 2024, he is #1 in the UFC featherweight rankings and #7 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Dominick Reyes is an American professional mixed martial artist and former college football player. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 19, 2023, he is #14 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.
Dricus du Plessis is a South African professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and the first South African to win a UFC championship. As of 20 February 2024, he is #9 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
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Carlos Sao Murry Ulberg is a New Zealand mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Ilia Topuria is a Georgian and Spanish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Featherweight Champion. As of February 20, 2024, he is #5 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
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