UFC 297 Full Card Rundown:
The card will take place January 2oth 2024 in Toronto, Canada. The main even will include the middleweight title fight between Sean Strickland, who will be taking on Dricus Du Plessis. The event was previously intended to have the featherweight championship clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria but has since been scrapped following UFC 294 outcome.
Main Event:
Sean Strickland puts his undisputed middleweight championship on the line against Dricus Du Plessis. Both men had unexpected and shock victories over Whittaker and Adesanya respectively.
Du Plessis remains undefeated in the UFC going on a 6 fight win streak. He defeated Derek Brunson , Darren Till and Robert Whittaker on the road to the title.
In Comparison, Strickland is on a 3 fight win streak defeating Imavov , Abus Magomedov and Israel Adesanya. This was a huge U-turn in Strickland’s career, following back to back losses. He lost to Alex Pereira and close decision defeat to Jared Cannonier. Strickland, a hugely controversial character looks for a first title defense of many. Du Plessis looking for another win to add to his streak and a potential fight with huge rival Adesanya in Africa.
Co-Main Event:
Raquel Pennington VS Mayra Bueno Silva
The vacant women’s bantamweight championship will be on the line in the co main event. Raquel Pennington will take on Mayra Bueno Silva. Following Amanda Nunes retirement, the title will be back on the line. Pennington on a 
5 fight win streak breathing new life into her career. She defeated Ketlen Viera early 2023 and looks to fight early 2024. Whereas, Silva holds a 4 fight unbeaten run with a recent win over Holy Holm being overturned. Her previous win was to rising contender Manon Fiorot. This fight hopes to start a lengthy title run following the Amanda Nunes dominance era.
Main Card:
Arnold Allen VS Movsar Evloev
Arnold Allen takes on Movsar Evloev in a featherweight contender bout between #4th and #9th in the division. Allen following his valiant effort against Holloway looks to comeback after the decision defeat. Previously, Allen was on a 7 fight win streak before the defeat beating Calvin Kattar and Dan Hooker. Allen will look to utilize his well rounded skill set to stop Evloev’s surge of takedowns. Evloev has a 10 fight win streak beating Dan Ige and Diego Lopes with his offensive grappling. Allen will be Evloev’s toughest test to date and we will see if Evloev is the real deal.
Neil Magny vs Mike Malott
Neil Magny vs Mike MalottThe hometown hero Mike Malott is scheduled to fight Neil Magny. Malott with a win will see himself enter the rankings as he is looking to utilize the home crowd as he did at UFC 289. Malott has a chance to become a contender in the welterweight division. Magny previously fought Ian Garry at UFC 292 where Garry put a clinic on Magny just like Burns and Rahkmanov previously did. Magny still has a pedigree with wins over Geoff Neal and Daniel Rodriguez. He look to derail Malott’s hype train and keep his spot in the rankings.
Chris Curtis VS Marc- Andre Barriault
Teammate and friend to Sean Strickland, Chris Curtis fights Marc- Andre Barriault at UFC 297. Curtis coming of a no-contest against Imavov and losses to Gastelum and Hermansson. Curtis looks to follow the footsteps of teammate Strickland and resurge career after a few losses. Furthermore, Barriault is also Canadian and is the hometown warrior looking to win again as he did at UFC 289, in front of his own crowd. The victor looks to become ranked with a good performance putting them around 14th ranked in the division. 
Conclusion:
UFC 297 looks to set a good standard for UFC events in 2024. The Canadian fight card showcases a lot of hometown talent like UFC 289 did and will see 2 title fights take place with huge implications on the title picture of each division. Arnold Allen and Evloev looks to be a top 5 battle in featherweight as both men look to be in the tile picture. Will there be massive changes we will see in January.
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