The UFC had a big year in 2023 and now they’re looking to start 2024 with a bang with their first pay-per-view event of the year. Some of the best fighters in the world will return to Toronto and step into the octagon with some very big opportunities in front of them.
The recently crowned middleweight champion will make his first title defense against a fast-rising challenger who has smashed every opponent in his path. Plus, a vacated championship will be up for grabs in a showdown of two of the best female fighters in the game and an up-and-coming welterweight will look to score a signature win against a seasoned veteran in the top 15.
Welterweight bout: Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott
UFC veteran Neil Magny has been up and down as of late, alternating wins and losses for his last six fights. Coming off of a decision loss to Ian Garry in August, Magny is due for a win here. With his record now standing at 28-11, with seven knockouts, Magny has long been one of the gatekeepers of the welterweight division. Unable to pick up that big win himself, he hovers around the #10 spot in the rankings, turning away unworthy challengers. Now though, he has another challenger at his gate and he finds himself in need of a win.
And this challenger will have the hometown advantage. Mike Malott comes into this bout with a 10-1-1 record, with four knockouts and six submissions. Since coming into the UFC, he has racked up a knockout and two submissions in his three fights. A win over Magny would be a huge feather in his cap and would likely vault him into the top 15. With both of these guys being very well rounded, this should be an interesting matchup that could take place on the feet or on the floor.
My pick: Malott via decision
Women’s Bantamweight Championship bout: Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
2023 saw the end of the career for arguably the greatest female fighter in the history of the UFC: Amanda Nunes. Since then, the women’s bantamweight championship has remained vacant. That will change Saturday night. Raquel Pennington has been around the top of women’s MMA for a long time. In her 23-fight career, she has faced off against Nunes, Holly Holm and Miesha Tate, adding it all up to a 15-8 record. She’s also riding a five-fight winning streak and hasn’t lost since 2020. Pennington is well rounded and one of the toughest in the sport, she just hasn’t been able to claim that top spot before. Perhaps that changes here.
For that to be the case though, she’ll need to get past the red hot Mayra Bueno Sliva, who comes into this contest with a 10-2-1 record with seven submission. Bueno Silva has won three in a row (minus a no contest against Holm due to a failed drug test for Bueno Silva), two of them by submission. She’s a world-class grappler who can put any opponent away and that is surely her path to becoming a champion. This will just be a matter of whether or not she can bring Pennington to the floor.
My pick: Bueno Silva via 3rd round submission
Middleweight Championship bout: Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis
The middleweight division has been chaotic in the last couple of years. For a while, Israel Adesanya was a dominant champion, but then he lost the title. Then he won it again. Then he lost it again. Now, we have a brand new, unlikely champion and a dominant challenger looking to take the crown away in what should be an explosive main event. Oh and by the way, these two guys threw punches at each other in the audience at UFC 296. So there’s clearly some bad blood here too.
Middleweight champ Sean Strickland comes into his first title defense with a 28-5 record and 11 knockouts. That is certainly the resume of a champion, but the fact that he has only won three of his last five puts a little bit of cold water on it. Of course, those three wins have been in his most recent bouts, including his victory over Adesanya. Strickland has great hands, which have scored him all of those 11 knockouts. Getting into a standup battle against him is not recommended for most challengers.
Dricus Du Plessis is not most challengers. Coming into this main event with a 20-2 record, nine knockouts and 10 submissions, Du Plessis is becoming more and more impressive with each walk to the octagon. He’s won eight in a row, including all six of his UFC bouts and hasn’t lost a fight since 2018. All of that came to a head when he dominated perennial challenger Robert Whittaker in July. With overwhelming pressure, power striking and smothering grappling, Du Plessis’ only weakness for a long time seemed to be his cardio. That was not an issue against Whittaker though and if he truly has fixed that issue, he is going to be a problem for the entire middleweight division for a long time.
My pick: Du Plessis via 3rd round knockout
UFC 297 will be held Saturday, January 20 at 10 PM ET. ESPN+ subscribers can order the pay per view through for $79.99.