''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.

Background

The event marked the promotion's seventh visit to Toronto and first since UFC 231 in December 2018. A

UFC Middleweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

bout between current champion

Sean Strickland Sean Thomas Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he is the former King of ...

and former KSW Welterweight Champion

Dricus du Plessis Dricus du Plessis (born 14 January 1994) is a South African professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He previously competed in the Middleweight division of E ...

headlined the event. A UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout for the vacant title between former title challenger

Raquel Pennington Raquel Len Pennington (born September 5, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in Ultimate Fighting Championship women's featherweight division. She has previously fought for Invicta Fighting Championships. As of May 23, 2022, ...

and

Mayra Bueno Silva Mayra Bueno Silva (born August 22, 1991) is a Brazilian female mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of March 7, 2023, she is #10 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings. Backg ...

took place at the event. The title was vacated when former champion Amanda Nunes announced her retirement immediately after defending her title at

UFC 289 ''UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 10, 2023, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. A UFC Featherweight Championship bout between current champion Alexander Volkanovski and

Ilia Topuria Ilia Topuria ( ka, ილია თოფურია) (born January 21, 1997) is a Georgian and Spanish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 13, 20 ...

was expected to take place at this event. However, Volkanovski was instead pulled to face Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship at

UFC 294 ''UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 21, 2023, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event marked the ...

. As a result, this fight was pushed back one month to headline UFC 298. A light heavyweight rematch between former KSW and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Jan Błachowicz Jan Maciej Błachowicz (; born 24 February 1983) 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 Champ ...

and

Aleksandar Rakić Aleksandar Rakić (born February 6, 1992) is an Austrian mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2011, Rakić has also competed for the Fina ...

was expected to take place at the event. 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. However, Błachowicz withdrew due to a shoulder injury and the bout was scrapped. A light heavyweight bout between former title challenger

Dominick Reyes Dominick Reyes (born December 26, 1989) 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 6, 2 ...

and

Carlos Ulberg Carlos Sao Murry Ulberg (born 17 November 1990) is a New Zealand mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight (MMA), Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Ulberg was born ...

was scheduled for this event. However, in late December 2023, it was announced that match was off due to an injury sustained by Ulberg. They were rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Brady vs. Luque two months later. 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. 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. 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.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland *Performance of the Night: Gillian Robertson and Jasmine Jasudavicius

References

{{2024 in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 2024 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in Canada January 2024 sports events in Canada 2024 in Canadian sports Sports competitions in Toronto 2024 in Toronto 2024 in sports in Ontario

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References