10 p.m. ET: ESPN+ PPV Main Event

8 p.m.: Prelims (ESPN+, ESPN, ESPN Deportes & SiriusXM Fight Nation 156)

6:30 p.m.: Early Prelims (ESPN+ & SiriusXM Fight Nation 156)

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UFC PPV action kicks off its 2024 slate this weekend from Toronto with UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis. The first UFC PPV event of the year will be live from Scotiabank Arena on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 10 p.m. ET, exclusively on ESPN+ PPV (English and Spanish). The Prelims will be available on ESPN+, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and SiriusXM Fight Nation 156 starting at 8 p.m. The Early Prelims will start at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+ and SiriusXM Fight Nation 156.

Main Event

• UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland sets out for his first title defense since his win over Israel Adesanya last September, against No. 2 ranked contender Dricus Du Plessis in a bad-blood main event between two rivals with a major grudge to settle. Strickland (28-5) sets out to add to his 11 KO wins, while Du Plessis (20-2) looks to make history by becoming the first ever South African born UFC champion.

Co-Main Event

• The co-main event will see No. 2 bantamweight contender Raquel Pennington face off with No. 3 Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant UFC bantamweight championship. Former The Ultimate Fighter and Dana White’s Contender Series veterans Pennington (15-9) and Bueno Silva (10-2-1 1NC) both look to extend their current multi-fight unbeaten streaks and capture the title in the process.

Additional PPV Card Highlights

• 13 ranked welterweight contender Neil Magny (28-12) looks to halt the momentum of Mike Malott (10-1-1) who enters on a six-fight win streak. Magny holds the record for most welterweight wins in UFC history (21) while Malott carries a perfect 100% career finish rate (all 10 wins by stoppage) including 9 in the first round.
• 14 ranked middleweight contender Chris Curtis (30-10 1NC) takes on heavy-handed Marc-Andre Barriault (16-6 1NC)
• 4 ranked featherweight contender Arnold Allen (19-2), winner of 12 of his last 13 fights, squares off with undefeated No. 9 Movsar Evloev (17-0)

ESPN+, ESPN.com, ESPN App UFC Content: Editorial, Live and Upcoming, On Demand, Studio Shows, Archives

• Friday: MMA Rank: Who will have the best 2024?
• UFC 297: Expert picks, best bets for the two title fights
• Strickland vs. Du Plessis: Quién impone su estilo y otras preguntas clave de UFC 297
• UFC 297 Strickland vs. Du Plessis: cómo ver el PPV por ESPN+

Sean and Maxx on SportsCenter

Strickland and Raiders Defensive End Maxx Crosby sat down together with Megan Olivi to share how they met, what brought them together for a friendly sparring session last year and the admiration they have for each other. Premieres Thursday on the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter and will re-air during the weekend edition of SportsCenter: AM on Saturday, beginning at 7 a.m.

On The Call

• Jon Anik will call the action alongside former two-division Champion Daniel Cormier and former two-time bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. Olivi will handle reporting duties.

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Programming (All times ET)

*Immediately following Main Event

Main Card and Prelims (All times ET)

For More Information on ESPN+

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MEDIA CONTACTS 

Ardi Dwornik: [email protected] | Michael Skarka: [email protected]