UFC 297: The First Pay-Per-View Card of the Year Set to Be an Electric One
Strickland Looks to Defend His Title Against the South African Phenom, Dricus du Plessis

Fight! 🥋
The UFC schedule has been hell on earth for MMA fans since UFC 296 on December 16. Why? Well, because we’re too comfortable with our weekly dose of octagon violence, and the Christmas/New Year break gets our panties in a bunch. Fortunately, last week, Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker put us out of our misery via UFC Vegas 86; however, nothing can quite beat the feeling of a numbered pay-per-view card.
Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis meet again at the #UFC297 fighter hotel. 🤣#UFC297 #UFC #MMA
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) January 18, 2024
Fear not; UFC 297 is two days out, and the first PPV event of the year, live from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, is guaranteed to deliver fireworks in the modern-day answer for a gladiator arena!
One. Day. Closer. 😤
That’s a wrap on the #UFC297 media day 🎥 pic.twitter.com/YClzsgJ93x
— UFC (@ufc) January 18, 2024
Sean Strickland, the newly crowned UFC middleweight champion who dethroned Israel Adesanya in one of the biggest surprise victories of 2023, will make his first title defense against the fighting pride of South Africa, Dricus Du Plessis.
Du Plessis, 30, has beaten the sh*t out of every opponent placed in front of him since the man made his promotional debut in 2020. More impressively, just one of his six UFC wins went the distance, and his unblemished record inside the octagon will meet a savage in Strickland.
Elsewhere, the vacated women’s bantamweight championship, oh sorry, excuse me, we do not care about the co-main event. Snooze-fest. However, we do care about the Canadian UFC fighters and fan base having their chance to shine once again.
“We have this crew of fighters that are just about to explode” 💥
These Canadians have found their way onto #UFC297 to battle it out on their home turf 🇨🇦
Watch them LIVE on @ESPNPlus PPV this Saturday pic.twitter.com/ubxFyckYmW
— UFC (@ufc) January 18, 2024
Canadian UFC Fighters Stand Up
Nine Canadian UFC roster members have returned home to put their fist-throwing, suplex-slamming skills on display.
From Malcon Gordan on the prelim opener to the always entertaining Charles “Air” Jourdain and the people’s co-main event Mike Malott, we can truly see how George Saint Pierre, one of the greatest combatants in MMA history, inspired generations of fighters to come.
PROTECT THE HOUSE! 🏟️
🍁 We got NINE Canadians leading the North Takeover Saturday night!#UFC297 | LIVE on PPV | Main 10pmET pic.twitter.com/PTGNywHer7
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) January 18, 2024
What I’m excited about is Dana White’s silence on the UFC 300 championship bout announcements. I have a funny suspicion that the winner of the Strickland vs. Du Plessis will be announced as Adesanya’s opponent for the marquee event in April, alongside a light heavyweight championship between Ankalaev and Alex Pereira following the Russian’s success against Johnny Walker last weekend.
We’re only three weeks into 2024, but UFC news has been trending like crazy of late, and wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, you won’t want to miss the storyline playout, which begins in Canada this weekend at UFC 297!
Author: Sin City Sniper
Busting bookmakers and taking their money is his greatest joy in life. He’s been around the block more than once, knows the players both on and off the field of battle, and uses his experience to serve the bookies a heaping plate of humble pie washed down by a warm glass of their salty tears. You can find him in any number of Vegas books, sniping weak lines and getting paid to do it.
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