Taking place at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, UFC 297 came back to the Great White North to kick off their year with two major title fights. This UFC event was the most successful in Canada with 18,599 fans in attendance. It was also popular with people who were watching the fights from home as it grossed $8 million USD. Did UFC’s first event of their 31st year get off to a good start?
The opening Featherweight bout saw Movsar Evloev extend his win streak by overcoming Arnold Allen with a unanimous decision win, extending Evloev’s professional win streak to 18-0. This also marked his 7th victory since joining the UFC. In a post fight interview, Evloev expressed that this win should show that he should be next in line to challenge for the Featherweight championship. However, UFC President Dana White called Evloev and Allen’s bout “the least fun fight anyone’s ever seen.” Chris Curtis bounced back from a winless 2023 campaign with a split decision win over Marc-André Barriault. The next bout saw Ontario native Mike Malott control Neil Magny for two rounds before Magny came back in round three with an incredible flurry of punches for a TKO win.
The Women’s Bantamweight title was vacated following the retirement of the legendary Amanda Nunes. Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva battled for the gold throughout all five rounds with Pennington getting the win by unanimous decision. This decision was a culmination of over 12 years of work for Pennington and it was on display throughout the fight.
Following numerous exchanges and a brawl at UFC 296, Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland and Dricus de Plessis’s main event bout was a battle for the ages. Both men used the best of their abilities in a razor thin bout that left both men battered. De Plessis ended up taking home the gold in a split decision win, making him the first South African fighter to win a UFC belt. Although the bout was praised by many and won Fight of the Night, its outcome was debated online.
UFC 298 will be on February 17th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. One of the main events will feature Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski defending his gold against IIia Topuria. The co-main event will feature Middleweight fighters Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa. UFC is available to watch on ESPN, ESPN+, and PPV.
