Dricus Du Plessis secured the middleweight title at UFC 297 in Toronto with a narrow split decision victory over Sean Strickland. Throughout the bout at Scotiabank Arena, Du Plessis aggressively pushed forward, rarely conceding ground. While Strickland initially found success with his jab, his effectiveness diminished as the fight progressed. Du Plessis, gaining confidence, honed in on his range and executed effective blitzes against Strickland.
Both fighters displayed signs of wear, with Du Plessis’ left eye nearly swollen shut and Strickland, the titleholder since his decision win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, sustaining significant cuts on the left side of his face.
Du Plessis, fresh off a knockout victory against former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, showcased versatility by incorporating well-timed takedowns. Despite pre-fight concerns about his endurance, Du Plessis answered those questions in the five-round contest. The judges scored the fight 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47 in favor of Du Plessis.
Post-fight, Du Plessis issued a callout to Adesanya, reigniting their existing tensions.
In the main card:
- Middleweight Championship: Dricus Du Plessis defeats Sean Strickland via unanimous decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
- Women’s Bantamweight Championship: Raquel Pennington defeats Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)
- Welterweight: Neil Magny (+310) secures a TKO victory over Mike Malott at 4:45 of the third round
- Middleweight: Chris Curtis secures a split decision win against Marc-Andre Barriault (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
- Featherweight: Movsar Evloev secures a unanimous decision victory over Arnold Allen (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
In the prelims:
- Bantamweight: Garrett Armfield defeats Brad Katona via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Featherweight: Sean Woodson secures a split decision victory over Charles Jourdain (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Bantamweight: Ramon Tavares secures a split decision win over Serhiy Sidey (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Women’s Strawweight: Gillian Robertson secures a TKO victory over Polyana Viana at 3:12 of the second round
In the early prelims:
- Welterweight: Sam Patterson secures a victory via rear-naked choke over Yohan Lainesse at 2:03 of the first round
- Women’s Flyweight: Jasmine Jasudavicius secures a victory via D’arce choke over Priscila Cachoeira at 4:21 of the third round
- Flyweight: Jimmy Flick secures a victory via arm triangle over Malcolm Gordon at 1:17 of the second round.
