After dethroning Israel Adesanya and delivering one of the biggest upsets of last year, Sean Strickland is now set to defend the UFC Middleweight title against Dricus Du Plessis at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, on Saturday, January 20, 2024. As the first event of the year features significant matches on the card, fans can’t miss the action. Here are all the details about the event.
Tensions heightened in the lead-up to the event when Du Plessis took a personal route, targeting Strickland’s childhood trauma, escalating the rivalry. However, recent footage uploaded by UFC shows a reconciliation, as the two were seen hugging it out. There seems to be no lingering bad blood between them.
Timings :
In the USA, the preliminary card starts at 6:15 PM EST, and the main card begins at 10:00 PM EST (Jan 20). Meanwhile, the preliminary card begins at 4:45 AM IST, and the main card kicks off at 8:30 AM IST on January 21 in India.
Where to watch:
- USA: ESPN+
- UK: TNT Sports
- Canada: BELL, Rogers, Shaw, SaskTel, Videotron, Telus, EastLink, and Rumble
- Brazil: UFC Fight Pass
- India: Sony Sports Network (Sony Ten 2,3,4) and Sony Liv
- Australia: Kayo
- Rest Of The World: UFC Fight Pass
Meanwhile, apart from the main event, the co-main features a battle for the vacant women’s bantamweight title between Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva, post-Amanda Nunes’ retirement.
UFC 297: Commentators and Fight Card
Bad news for fans of Joe Rogan as he won’t be part of the UFC 297 commentary for this event outside the USA; Jon Anik leads with Daniel Cormier and Dominick Cruz as color commentators, and Din Thomas joins as a coach-analyst.
Main Card:
- Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis: Middleweight Title
- Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Raquel Pennington: Vacant (W) Bantamweight Title
- Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott: Welterweight
- Chris Curtis vs. Marc-André Barriault: Middleweight
- Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev: Featherweight
Prelims:
- Brad Katona vs. Garrett Armfield: Bantamweight
- Charles Jourdain vs. Sean Woodson: Featherweight
- Serhiy Sidey vs. Ramon Taveras: Bantamweight
- Gillian Robertson vs. Polyana Viana: Strawweight
Early Prelims:
- Yohan Lainesse vs. Sam Patterson: Welterweight
- Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Priscila Cachoeira: (W) Flyweight
- Malcolm Gordon vs. Jimmy Flick: Flyweight
