UFC 297: Full card and start time as Sean Strickland battles Dricus du Plessis in heated title bout

The UFC middleweight championship will be on the line as Sean Strickland defends against Dricus du Plessis this weekend in Toronto, Canada.

Most fans are expecting fireworks in the main event of UFC 297 following what has been a heated build-up.

Strickland and du Plessis engaged in a verbal joust during the first press conference last month – one which led to a heated face-off.

Not long after, both men found themselves sitting within each other’s vicinity during UFC 296. This, inevitably, led to a ring-side brawl.

Both the personal and physical attacks have only driven interest in this already promising title fight.

Strickland won the middleweight crown last September following a decision victory over Israel Adesanya.

The American fighter is on a three-fight winning run, last tasting defeat against Jared Cannonier back in December 2022.

Du Plessis, on the other hand, is unbeaten in the UFC, claiming six victories since joining the organisation in 2020.

The South African defeated Robert Whittaker by TKO in his last outing, earning performance of the night along the way.

Fans in the United Kingdom will be able to follow the action live on TNT Sports. The main card begins at 3am GMT.

American fans will be able to watch the event on ESPN+ PPV, with main card action beginning at 10pm ET.

Below is the full card for the first major UFC show of the year.

UFC Middleweight Championship
Sean Strickland (C) vs Dricus Du Plessis

Vacant UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship
Raquel Pennington vs Mayra Bueno Silva

Welterweight bout
Neil Magny vs Mike Malott

Middleweight bout
Chris Curtis vs Marc-Andre Barriault

Featherweight bout
Arnold Allen vs Movsar Evloev

Preliminary Card

Bantamweight bout
Brad Katona vs Garrett Armfield

Featherweight bout
Charles Jourdain vs Sean Woodson

Women's strawweight bout
Gillian Robertson vs Polyana Viana

Bantamweight bout
Serhiy Sidey vs Ramon Taveras

Early preliminary Card

Welterweight bout
Yohan Lainesse vs Sam Patterson

Women's flyweight bout
Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Priscila Cachoeira

Flyweight bout
Malcolm Gordon vs Jimmy Flick