UFC 297: Strickland vs Du Plessis Middleweight Title Bout Set
The main event for UFC 297 PPV event has been confirmed, and it will feature the UFC Middleweight Championship on the line.
Dana White has revealed that Sean Strickland will defend his UFC Middleweight title against Dricus Du Plessis in the main event of UFC 297 event. The announcement came via a video on social media where White also announced two more title bouts for UFC 298 and UFC 299.
Alexander Volkanovski vs Ilja Topuria featherweight title bout is set for UFC 298, while Sean O’Malley will face Marlon Vera at UFC 299 event to defend bantamweight title.
BREAKING…… pic.twitter.com/eW9Q23FVmI
— danawhite (@danawhite) November 6, 2023
Sean Strickland’s most recent fight took place at UFC 293, where he defeated Israel Adesanya to claim the UFC Middleweight title. His upcoming match will mark his first title defense. The bout against Adesanya was awarded fight of the night performance award.
Strickland is presently on a three-fight winning streak. Before facing Adesanya, he secured a knockout victory over Abus Magomedov at UFC Vegas 76 event, which was also recognized as Fight of the Night. Strickland’s UFC record stands at 15 wins, 5 losses, and 0 draws.
Dricus Du Plessis is enjoying an impressive 8-fight winning streak. In his most recent bout at UFC 290, he defeated Robert Whittaker by KO, earning the UFC performance of the night bonus. Before that, Du Plessis secured a victory over Derek Brunson at UFC 285. Notably, Du Plessis has competed in six matches within the UFC and emerged victorious in all six, maintaining an undefeated record in the promotion.
DDP was set to challenge Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, but was dealing with an injury at the time. The spot then went to Strickland who ended up beating Strickland for the title.
UFC 297 PPV event is set to take place on January 20, 2023, and it will be broadcast live from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The co-main event is set for UFC vacant bantamweight title where Raquel Pennington will face Mayra Bueno.
