Sean Strickland will defend his middleweight championship against Dricus Du Plessis in the main event of two-title-fight UFC 297 on Saturday in Toronto.
The co-main event at Scotiabank Arena is a fight for the vacant women's bantamweight title, with Raquel Pennington taking on Mayra Bueno Silva.
The main card will be on ESPN+ pay-per-view starting at 10 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. and early prelims on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m.
Strickland (28-5) will be making the first defense of the 185-pound title he took from Israel Adesanya in September. It was the third straight win for Strickland, who is No. 5 in the ESPN divisional rankings.
The second-ranked Du Plessis (20-2) has won eight fights in a row, most recently a second-round TKO of former champ Robert Whittaker in July.
Pennington (15-8), who made an unsuccessful challenge for the 135-pound title in 2018, earned this title bid with a split-decision win over Ketlen Vieira last January, her fifth win in a row. She is No. 1 in the ESPN women's bantamweight rankings.
Bueno Silva (10-2-1, 1 NC), who is unranked because she is coming off a suspension for using a banned substance, is unbeaten in her last four fights.
What are the storylines behind the top fights at UFC 297? How are experts breaking them down? What do the fighters have to say? Here is the fight card, how to watch it and a collection of all of the UFC 297 essentials.
UFC 297 fight card
ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET
Middleweight championship: Sean Strickland (c) vs. Dricus Du Plessis
Women's bantamweight championship: Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
Welterweight: Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott
Middleweight: Chris Curtis vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
Men's featherweight: Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev
ESPN+, 8 p.m.
Men's bantamweight: Brad Katona vs. Garrett Armfield
Men's featherweight: Charles Jourdain vs. Sean Woodson
Men's bantamweight: Serhiy Sidey vs. Ramon Taveras
Strawweight: Gillian Robertson vs. Polyana Viana
ESPN+, 6:30 p.m.
Welterweight: Yohan Lainesse vs. Sam Patterson
Women's flyweight: Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Men's flyweight: Malcolm Gordon vs. Jimmy Flick
(c) = defending champion
How to watch the fights
Watch the PPV and all other fights on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
Purchased the fight on your phone and want to stream on your TV? Find out how here.
There's also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.
UFC 297: Expert picks, best bets for the two title fights
Sean Strickland puts the UFC middleweight championship on the line in the first pay-per-view of the year as he takes on Dricus Du Plessis in the main event at UFC 297 in Toronto on Saturday.
Strickland (28-5), ranked No. 5 in ESPN's division rankings, will have his first title defense after beating Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision at UFC 293 to claim the title. Du Plessis (20-2), ranked ahead of Strickland at No. 2, is undefeated inside the Octagon. He finished each of his past three opponents.
In the co-main event, Raquel Pennington will face Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant women's bantamweight title. Pennington (15-9), ESPN's No. 1-ranked bantamweight, enters the fight riding a five-fight win streak. Bueno Silva (10-2-1), unranked by ESPN, has submission wins over two of her past three opponents.
Marc Raimondi spoke to Fight Ready MMA coach Santino De Franco to get his perspective on the UFC main event. ESPN's betting experts Reed Kuhn and Ian Parker add their insights and analysis on the main event and other intriguing bets they like on the card.
UFC champ Sean Strickland to defend title vs. Dricus Du Plessis
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland will defend his title against Dricus Du Plessis in January, UFC CEO Dana White announced.
Strickland (28-5) will be seeking his first title defense, after upsetting Israel Adesanya for the belt in September. The 185-pound title fight will headline UFC 297 in Toronto on Jan. 20.
Pennington, Bueno Silva to vie for vacant title at UFC 297
Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva will fight for the vacant UFC women's bantamweight title at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto, sources confirmed with ESPN.
The title was vacated by Amanda Nunes, regarded as the greatest women's MMA fighter of all time, in June when she retired following a win over Irene Aldana at UFC 289.