Sean Strickland will attempt his first defense of the UFC middleweight title against Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 297 from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set to stage its first pay-per-view (PPV) event of the New Year later TONIGHT (Sat., Jan. 20, 2024) from inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, will headline UFC 297, defending his 185-pound belt against budding bad blood rival, Dricus du Plessis. In the ESPN+-streamed co-main event, Raquel Pennington will battle Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant women’s Bantamweight belt.The build-up to the middleweight championship fight has had some intense moments, including a dust up between the two 185-pound fighters in the crowd at UFC 296. On Saturday night, the talking stops and the fighting starts with Strickland looking to prove his shocking win over Israel Adesanya was more than a fluke.Du Plessis has worked his way to a title shot by virtue of a eight-fight winning streak, including a 6-0 mark since joining the UFC in 2020.

The card will feature two title fights. Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva will square off with the vacant women's bantamweight title on the line. Both will be looking to establish themselves as the fighter to beat in the division that was left open by Amanda Nunes' retirement.It's a big night of fights and the first pay-per-view offering of 2024.