UFC 297 will head to Canada and the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto in 2024 with Sean Strickland making his first title defense. Strickland battles Dricus du Plessis in the main event with Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva meeting for the vacant women’s bantamweight title.
The Octagon is returning to Canada in 2024 with UFC 297 set for Toronto and the Scotiabank Arena.
All the action goes down Saturday, January 20 with Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight championship in the main event.
Strickland, who improved to 28-5 with a win over Israel Adesanya for the title earlier this year, is looking to add du Plessis’ name to a list that also includes Uriah Hall, Brendan Allen and Jack Hermansson.
Du Plessis, a 20-2 fighter out of South Africa, is on a nine-fight win streak that includes victories over former champion Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Darren Till.
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In the co-main event, Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva square off for the vacant women’s bantamweight belt. Pennington (15-8) is on a five-fight win streak while Bueno Silva (10-2) owns submission wins over the likes of Lina Lansberg and Stephanie Egger.
The rest of the UFC 297 fight card includes a former champion and past title contenders. Here is a look at the current UFC 297 lineup.
UFC 297 Card Also Includes Former Champion, Contenders
- No. 13 ranked welterweight contender Neil Magny (28-12, fighting out of Denver, Colo.) looks to halt the momentum of surging Canadian Mike Malott (10-1-1, fighting out of Burlington, Ont.)
- A pivotal light heavyweight contenders’ bout will see former champion and No. 4 ranked Jan Blachowicz (29-10-1, fighting out of Warsaw, Poland) rematch No. 5 Aleksandar Rakic (14-3, fighting out of Vienna, Austria)
- No. 4 ranked featherweight contender Arnold Allen (19-2, fighting out of Trimley St. Martin, Suffolk, England) squares off with undefeated No. 9 Movsar Evloev (17-0, fighting out of Sunzha, Republic of Ingushetia, Russia)
- Former light heavyweight title challenger and current No. 13 ranked contender Dominick Reyes (12-4, fighting out of Victoriaville, California, USA) locks horns with rising Carlos Ulberg (10-1, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand)
- Two-time The Ultimate Fighter winner Brad Katona (15-2, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland by way of Winnipeg, Man.) collides with Garrett Armfield (9-3, fighting out of Kansas City, Missouri, USA) in a bantamweight bout
- No. 14 ranked middleweight contender Chris Curtis (30-10 1NC, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA by way of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) takes on heavy-handed Marc-Andre Barriault (16-6 1NC, fighting out of Boca Raton, Florida, USA by way of Gatineau, Que.)
- Charles Jourdain (15-6-1, fighting out of Beloeil, Que.) meets Sean Woodson (10-1-1, fighting out of St. Louis, Mo.) in an exciting featherweight tilt
- Dana White’s Contender Series contract winners rematch when Serhiy Sidey (10-1, fighting out of Burlington, Ont.) faces Ramon Taveras (9-2, fighting out of Duval County, Florida, USA) at bantamweight
- Submission ace Gillian Robertson (12-8, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Florida, USA by way of Niagara Falls, Ont.) meets Polyana Viana (13-6, fighting out of São Geraldo do Araguaia, Pará, Brazil) at flyweight
- Hometown flyweight Malcolm Gordon (14-7, fighting out of Toronto, Ont.) takes on Jimmy Flick (16-6, fighting out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA)
- Yohan Lainesse (9-2, fighting out of St-Bruno, Que.) meets Sam Patterson (10-2-1, fighting out of Watford, England) in a battle of welterweight Dana White’s Contender Series signees
