Saturday, January 21st at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the UFC hosted its first pay-per-view of 2024: UFC 297. With Strickland capturing the Middleweight title from Isreal Adesanya, and Amanda Nunes retiring and vacating the Women’s Bantamweight title, both divisions were clearly entering new and exciting eras with the departure of their dominant champions. Canadian fans were treated to a solid card that delivered some finishes, but not many highlights.
Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis
The main event between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis delivered a war. Strickland opened the fight relying on his jab and lightning-fast reflexes to avoid Du Plessis’ lunging right hands and head kick attempts while switching stances to gain an advantage over the South African.
Dricus responded by increasing the pressure and volume of strikes attempting to overwhelm Strickland with looping right hands and shots coming from all angles.
In the 2nd and 3rd rounds, Dricus Du Plessis seemed to find the range and timing, land some effective strikes, and take Strickland down. He shortened up his combinations and began targeting Strickland’s body with some roundhouse kicks and hooks from both hands and appeared to begin to closely win the rounds.
In the 4th round, Dricus Du Plessis landed an elbow that opened a severe cut over Strickland’s left eye. Du Plessis would then take Strickland down, but Strickland popped right back to his feet and continued to manage the pressure of Du Plessis. Strickland landed several jabs and some right hands behind them, but the blood from his cut seemed to affect his vision and become a real factor.
The final round saw both fighters leaving it all in the octagon with Du Plessis reopening Strickland’s cut and Strickland throwing caution to the wind. The two fighters slugged it out for the final two minutes, getting the Canadian fans on their feet and roaring for the UFC Middleweight title fight.
The final bell rung and the two briefly embraced each other before heading to the center of the octagon to hear the final score. 2 judges scored the bout 48-47 for Dricus Du Plessis and 1 judge scored the fight 48-47 for Sean Strickland, and Du Plessis was awarded the split decision win and the UFC Middleweight championship.
Following the bout, Dricus Du Plessis took the microphone and called out former UFC Middleweight Champion Isreal Adesanya out. “Get your a** back in the UFC so we can settle the score!” he said.
Raquel Pennington vs Mayra Bueno Silva
While remaining an important fight in the history of the UFC Bantamweight division, the co-main event did not live up to its placement on the card. Raquel “Rocky” Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva certainly fought hard but the bout left a bad taste in MMA fan’s mouths as the fireworks were limited in the first championship fight that didn’t feature Ronda Rousey, Amanda Nunes, or Holly Holm in the history of the division.
Raquel Pennington came out throwing hard combinations at the less-experienced Silva who avoided them early in the fight and seemed to compromise Pennington’s lead leg with calf kicks. Silva imposed her gameplan early, taking Pennington down, taking her back, and nearly securing a rear-naked choke.
“Rocky” quickly turned the tide of the fight in the second round, however, with multiple hard right hands that wobbled Silva who retreated to the cage. Silva, then, took the fight back to the ground and nearly finished the fight with another chokehold at the end of the 2nd round.
The later rounds went much like the second, Pennington landed punishing right hands and Silva desperately tried to get the fight to the ground and submit Pennington. Pennington’s corner urged her to avoid grappling with Silva both during and in between each round but Pennington refused to back down from grappling with the Brazilian.
Silva’s fatigue became a large factor in the 4th round as she struggled to even make it to the stool heading into the 5th. Pennington, much fresher, came out and continued to dominate the fight by landing at will, avoiding submissions, and putting together some punishing ground and pound to cap off a landslide victory. “Rocky” was announced the winner by Unanimous Decision and awarded the UFC Bantamweight Championship.
In the post-fight press conference, Pennington acknowledged that a fight with former UFC Champion Juliana Pena was probably inevitable. “She gets under my damn skin,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for that fight for 13 years.”
UFC 297 Full Fight Results:
Dricus Du Plessis (21-2-0 9KO) def. Sean Strickland (28-6-0 11KO) via Split Decision
Raquel Pennington (16-8-0 1KO) def. Mayra Bueno Silva (10-3-1 1KO) via Unanimous Decision
Neil Magny (29-11-0 8KO) def. Mike Malott (10-2-1 4KO) via TKO Round 3
Chris Curtis (31-10-0 15KO) def. Marc-André Barriault (16-7-0 10KO) via Unanimous Decision
Movsar Evloev (18-0 3KO) def. Arnold Allen (19-3 7KO) via Unanimous Decision
Garrett Armfield (10-3 6KO) def. Brad Katona (13-3 1KO) via Unanimous Decision
Sean Woodson (11-1-1 3KO) def. Charles Jourdain (15-7-1 8KO) via Split Decision
Ramon Taveras (10-2 5KO) def. Serhiy Sidey (10-2 6KO) via Split Decision
Gillian Robertson (13-8 2KO) def. Polyana Viana (13-7 5KO) via KO Round 2
Sam Patterson (11-2-1 4KO) def. Yohan Lainesse (9-3 6KO) via Submission Round 3
Jasmine Jasudavicius (10-3 2KO) def. Priscila Cachoeira (12-6 7KO) Submission Round 2
Jimmy Flick (17-7) def. Malcolm Gordon (14-8 5KO) Submission Round 2
