MMA News
UFC 297: 'Strickland vs. Du Plessis' Live Results and Highlights
Chris Taylor - January 20, 2024
The Octagon returns to Toronto for tonight’s UFC 297 event, a twelve-bout fight card headlined by Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis. Strickland (28-5 MMA) captured the promotion’s middleweight world title at September’s UFC 293 event, scoring a lopsided unanimous decision victory over Israel Adesanya. That win marked ‘Tarzan’s’ third in a row, as he had previously scored victories over Abusupiyan Magomedov and Nassourdine Imavov respectively.
UFC CEO Dana White remains noncommittal to Conor McGregor fighting Michael Chandler: "We'll see"
Chris Taylor - January 20, 2024
UFC CEO Dana White remains noncommittal to Conor McGregor fighting Michael Chandler in his Octagon return. McGregor (22-6 MMA) and Chandler (23-8 MMA) served as opposing coaches on Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter in the Spring of 2023. The original plan was to have the pair fight at December’s UFC 296 event, but the bout was ultimately pushed back due to various reasons.
Dricus du Plessis issues warning to Sean Strickland after ‘fight to the death’ comments: “Your wish has been granted my friend”
Harry Kettle - January 20, 2024
UFC star Dricus du Plessis has issued a clear warning to Sean Strickland ahead of their showdown at UFC 297. Tonight in Toronto, Dricus du Plessis will challenge Sean Strickland for the UFC middleweight championship. It will serve as his first crack at a UFC belt as he attempts to become South Africa’s first ever champion in the promotion.
Yair Rodriguez plans to make a statement in rematch with Brian Ortega at UFC Mexico City: “I don’t see why people keep thinking his shoulder just fell off for no reason”
Harry Kettle - January 20, 2024
UFC star Yair Rodriguez wants to make a statement in his upcoming rematch against Brian Ortega. On February 24 at UFC Mexico City, Yair Rodriguez will collide with Brian Ortega for the second time. The two men first met back in summer 2022, and on that occasion, Rodriguez was the man who had his hand raised. He did so after Ortega sustained a shoulder injury during a grappling exchange.
Cris Cyborg wins her second professional boxing bout by first round KO (Video)
Harry Kettle - January 20, 2024
MMA legend Cris Cyborg scored a first round knockout in her second professional boxing match last night. At the age of 38, Cris Cyborg is still making history. In addition to winning a title in pretty much every mixed martial arts promotion she’s been a part of, she’s also decided to have a run in boxing. After winning her debut against Gabrielle Holloway last year, she was next scheduled to battle Kelsey Wickstrum.
WATCH | Dricus du Plessis rushes Sean Strickland at UFC 297 ceremonial weigh-ins
Josh Evanoff - January 19, 2024
The UFC 297 ceremonial weigh-ins between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis were wild. ‘Tarzan’ and ‘Stillknocks’ are currently expected to meet in the main event of UFC 297 tomorrow night in Canada. For Sean Strickland, the championship defense will be the first of his middleweight title reign. Last September, he famously won the title with an upset unanimous decision win over Israel Adesanya.
Joe Rogan dismisses idea Israel Adesanya underestimated Sean Strickland in title loss: "He's just that good"
Josh Evanoff - January 19, 2024
UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes that Sean Strickland is just that good ahead of his first middleweight title defense. ‘Tarzan’ is currently slated to make his first UFC title defense tomorrow night, in Toronto, Canada. In the pay-per-view main event, Sean Strickland will face the rising South African, Dricus du Plessis. ‘Stillknocks’ earned the title opportunity with a knockout win over Robert Whittaker last July.
Dricus Du Plessis reacts after “irrelevant” Israel Adesanya picks him to defeat Sean Strickland at UFC 297
Susan Cox - January 19, 2024
Dricus Du Plessis is reacting after ‘irrelevant’ Israel Adesanya picked him to defeat Sean Strickland at UFC 297. The former middleweight champion, Adesanya (24-3 MMA) weighed in on who he believes will come out the victor at UFC 297.
Jon Jones reveals that he was offered a fight at UFC 300: "We both knew I wouldn't be ready"
Josh Evanoff - January 19, 2024
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones was offered a chance to fight in April at the company’s milestone event. As of now, the UFC 300 card is far from complete. Fights such as Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway and Zhilei Zhang vs. Yan Xiaonan have been added. However, a lot of fans have been waiting for a big draw to potentially fight on the milestone event, like what’s happened with previous historic events.
Dricus Du Plessis admits UFC 297 weight cut was not easy: "I made the weight five minutes before"
Cole Shelton - January 19, 2024
Dricus Du Plessis didn’t have the easiest weight cut for his UFC 297 title fight against Sean Strickland. Du Plessis is set to headline UFC 297 on Saturday night in Toronto opposite Strickland for the middleweight title. It’s an intriguing matchup, and currently, the oddsmakers have it practically a pick’em with a slight lean toward Strickland.
Bruce Buffer always knew the UFC would be one of "the biggest things in sports worldwide"
Cole Shelton - January 19, 2024
Bruce Buffer has seen it all throughout his time in the UFC. Buffer will have been the voice of the Octagon for 29 years next month, and when he first joined the company, MMA wasn’t very popular, and the UFC was struggling to stay afloat. However, Buffer had full confidence the UFC could become the biggest thing in combat sports, but also one of the biggest things in sports, period.
Sean Strickland blames ‘cuck’ Sean O’Malley for initiating bad blood with Dricus Du Plessis
Susan Cox - January 19, 2024
Sean Strickland is blaming ‘cuck’ Sean O’Malley for initiating the bad blood between himself and Dricus Du Plessis. UFC 297 takes place tomorrow, Saturday, January 20th at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sean Strickland sends a message to “awesome” Canadian fans at the UFC 297 presser: “I care about you guys having freedom of speech”
Harry Kettle - January 19, 2024
Sean Strickland sent a passionate message to the Canadian fans in attendance during the UFC 297 press conference. Fight week has certainly been busy for UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland. Tomorrow night, he’ll lock horns with Dricus du Plessis as he attempts to defend his belt for the first time successfully. Prior to that, though, he’s had a lot of media commitments to get through. In the last few days, that’s included him launching some controversial remarks at a journalist (and an entire community) and taking part in the pre-fight press conference.
Julianna Pena believes she has “motivated” Mayra Bueno Silva ahead of her UFC 297 title fight: “I live rent free in her head”
Harry Kettle - January 19, 2024
Julianna Pena believes she has been able to motivate Mayra Bueno Silva ahead of her UFC 297 title fight this weekend. On Saturday night, Mayra Bueno Silva will take on Raquel Pennington for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship. It will serve as the dawn of a new era in the division, following the retirement of Amanda Nunes.
Sean Strickland states his condition for accepting a fight with undeserving Khamzat Chimaev: “Make the stack of money bigger”
Harry Kettle - January 19, 2024
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has given his thoughts on a potential showdown with Khamzat Chimaev. Back at UFC 293, Sean Strickland defeated Israel Adesanya to capture the UFC middleweight championship. This weekend, at UFC 297, he’ll make his return to the Octagon in order to defend his belt against Dricus du Plessis.
Dana White rules out the returns of three former superstars for UFC 300
Harry Kettle - January 19, 2024
UFC president Dana White has seemingly ruled out the return of three superstar names for UFC 300. In April, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will produce their flagship UFC 300 event. It’s set to be one of the biggest shows they’ve ever produced, with eight fights already being announced. However, despite how many big names are already set to appear, some fans aren’t happy with the overall quality when compared to the likes of UFC 100, UFC 200 and even UFC 299.
Alexander Volkanovski dismisses the idea that he’s making too quick of a turnaround at UFC 298: “I’m not doing this just to get my head right”
Jeffrey Walter - January 18, 2024
Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t believe he’s making too quick of a turnaround with his upcoming fight against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. Volkanovski (26-3 MMA) most recently competed at last October’s UFC 294 event, where he suffered a brutal knockout loss to reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. The setback marked the Aussie’s first stoppage defeat since his initial professional loss in 2013.
Jimmy Flick claims he's the reason Malcolm Gordon is in the UFC ahead of UFC 297 fight: "It's not going 15 minutes"
Cole Shelton - January 18, 2024
Jimmy Flick knows his UFC job is on the line this Saturday night in Toronto. Flick is set to face Malcolm Gordon in the first fight of the night at UFC 297. The flyweights are opening the card, which is thrilling for Flick who gets to fight in front of a crowd for the first time in his UFC career.