There’s some good and bad news at the very top. We’ll give you the bad news first: The UFC only scheduled two events for January, and UFC 297 is the last show before a bye week next weekend.
Here’s the good news: UFC 297 takes place this Saturday night from Scotiabank Arena, the home court of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, and it’s a good-looking card on paper. Absent any postponements between now and Saturday, the final version of UFC 297 will feature 12 fights on a full evening of MMA action.
Live coverage kicks off at 6:30 pm ET/ 3:30 pm PT on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+ with early prelims, followed at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT with late undercard action on ESPNEWS and ESPN+. The five-fight main card starts at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
A special note to our audience in Canada: UFC 297 on Saturday night marks the first pay-per-view event from the UFC in its new media rights deal with the Rogers Sportsnet cable network. Sportsnet replaced TSN as the UFC’s rights holder after a decade.
Middleweight Championship Up For Grabs in UFC 297 Main Event
Was awesome to see so many colleagues, fighters, coaches and members of the UFC team that I hadn't seen in awhile today.
So thrilled to get things started with our new team at @Sportsnet ahead of #UFC297 in my hometown. pic.twitter.com/JuCPBvY429
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) January 18, 2024
At the top of the show is a pair of title fights, highlighted by the UFC 297 main event of the evening. Gold at 185 lbs. is at stake when incumbent champion Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) takes on No. 2 contender Dricus du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC).
As with all UFC championship fights, the UFC 297 main event is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close out the show.
UFC 297 Main Event Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds
Heading into the UFC 297 main event on Saturday night, both champion and challenger stand level in height at 6-foot-1. In addition, Strickland and du Plessis own identical 76-inch reaches, with the challenger having a 1 1/2-inch leg reach advantage (43 inches even to 41 1/2 inches.)
As of Thursday afternoon, the oddsmakers have this fight listed as a pick-’em. Strickland has -115 odds on the money line, while du Plessis counters at -105. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening over the weekend, please wager responsibly.
Sean Strickland Rants to Press Ahead of UFC 297 Main Event
Sean Strickland enters the UFC 297 main event, having posted a 3-2 record in his last five fights. Returning to January 14th last year, he’s on a three-fight winning streak.
Most recently, he scored a unanimous decision win against Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) on September 9th during UFC 293 on pay-per-view to take the title. During the champion’s media availability on Wednesday, it got heated with Strickland discussing his comments about du Plessis made earlier in the week.
“I didn’t DM [direct message] him and say ‘I’m going to stab him,'” Strickland began. “I didn’t DM and say ‘I’m going to stab him.’ I DMed him and said ‘Dricus, whatever the [expletive deleted] his name is, I like you. You’re a [censored] stand-up guy. You [censored], you fight hard. You might be occupying a country, but that’s neither here nor there. They’re slowly taking that one back, sorry, South Africans. I just simply said ‘That’s a line that I prefer we didn’t go there.'”
du Plessis Ready to Pummel Sean Strickland
In the other corner, challenger Dricus du Plessis enters the headlining bout on a 5-0 record over the course of his last five contests. All told, he’s on an eight-fight winning streak pre-dating his UFC tenure.
To find his most recent loss, you’d have to go back to October 2018. Last time out, he stopped Robert Whittaker (24-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) by second-round knockout (power jab followed by punches) on July 8th during UFC 290.
During the press conference, du Plessis outlined his plan of attack.
“Now, the battle that needs to be won is the one that’s coming on Saturday night,” du Plessis said. “That’s where my mind’s at. My mind is at being ready mentally, physically, and being in the best shape of my life come Saturday night.”
Dricus du Plessis is taking this assignment as seriously as a final exam worth half of the total grade.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
Stylistically, the UFC 297 main event looks to be another one of those toss-ups. Sean Strickland owns a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, while Dricus du Plessis has a second degree black belt in kickboxing.
Sean Strickland Can Overpower Any Opponent
Sean Strickland can go deep into a fight if and when the situation calls for it. He can show off his complete game plan when he goes into deep waters, like he did vs. Adesanya in September.
During the fourth round of a scheduled five, he traded strikes with Adesanya and landed a vicious left-handed strike. Adesanya was visibly exhausted, even if he landed a right hand and a kick to the body. The facts were there: At one point in round four, Adesanya failed to connect on roughly 100 punches to the head.
Strickland forced Adesanya off his game plan by outpacing him on strikes. If he can put Dricus du Plessis in a bad spot on Saturday, his defense of the title can be successful.
Dricus du Plessis Can Punch His Way to a Title
In the other corner, look for Dricus du Plessis can be brutal with his fists. His fight against Whittaker is a textbook example of that.
During the second round of a scheduled three, after du Plessis pieced Robert Whittaker up with strikes at the end of the first period, he connected on a jab, with Whittaker countering with a left hook. As the round progressed, du Plessis stunned Whittaker.
Smelling blood in the water, he landed a barrage of punches, forcing the referee to stop the fight in less than seven and a half minutes. Look for Dricus du Plessis to try and wobble Sean Strickland in the UFC 297 main event.
Final Thoughts
Although this is only the second title fight of the year, there’s a potential that the UFC 297 main event could be one of the best fights of 2024. This is going to be an awesome show.
Prediction: Dricus du Plessis by Unanimous Decision.
