Taking to Instagram, UFC president, Dana White announced three title fights for the first three months of 2024.
In January at UFC 297, the middleweight champion, Sean Strickland will make the first defence of his title against #2 Dricus du Plessis. Strickland shocked the world back in September when he out-pointed and dominated Israel Adesanya to capture the belt. This extended his winning run to three. Strickland’s shot arguably should have been du Plessis’. The South African was injured, however, and couldn’t make the walk. In January, he’ll look to extend his winning run to nine.
February’s UFC 298 will be headlined by featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski as he takes on the undefeated #5 Ilia Topuria. Volkanovski is looking to bounce back from his third career loss (and first knockout loss) back down at featherweight. He’s been dominant at 145lbs in the UFC in particular, notching 12 straight victories, including wins over legends such as Max Holloway, Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes. Topuria is undefeated at 14-0, recording three straight performance-of-the-night bonuses in his last three fights. His last fight saw him go five rounds with Josh Emmett in dominant fashion, securing him the title shot.
Rounding out the fight announcements saw White confirm that in March at UFC 299, bantamweight champion, Sean O’Malley will get his chance at avenging the lone loss on his record as he takes on #6 Marlon Vera. O’Malley knocked out former champion, Aljamain Sterling in a little over a round in August to cement himself as a legitimate bantamweight killer. Vera finished O’Malley back in August 2020, however, there was an injury to Suga‘s ankle during the fight. Vera will look to put back-to-back victories after defeating Pedro Munhoz via a three-round decision on the same card O’Malley won the belt.
https://twitter.com/danawhite/status/1721613706738499782
