UFC 297: Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis - Main card start time, main event walkouts, and everything else you need to know

Sean Strickland is gearing up to defend his middleweight title against Dricus Du Plessis in the main event of UFC 297. The first pay-per-view event of 2024 is scheduled to take place this weekend at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.

Additionally, Raquel Pennington is set to face Mayra Bueno Silva in the co-main event for the vacant women's bantamweight title.

The UFC 297 main card is scheduled to begin at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT on Saturday, Jan. 20, in the United States, translating to a 3 AM GMT start on Sunday, Jan. 21 in the United Kingdom. The octagon walkouts for the main event are expected around 12 AM ET/9 PM PT (5 AM GMT, Sunday) depending on the duration of the undercard fights.

Meanwhile, the UFC 297 early prelims are set to commence at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT (11:30 PM GMT). The prelims are scheduled to air at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT (1 AM GMT, Sunday).

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UFC 297 undercard: Full lineup beyond Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis

Sean Strickland is set to make his first title defense, and Dricus Du Plessis is poised to become the first South African to compete in a UFC title bout.

'Tarzan' orchestrated a significant upset by decisively defeating Israel Adesanya and securing the 185-pound title at UFC 293 last September. Meanwhile, Du Plessis is coming off a second-round stoppage triumph against Robert Whittaker last July at UFC 290.

In the co-main event, Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva are set to vie for the vacant bantamweight title, which has been unclaimed since Amanda Nunes announced her retirement following a unanimous decision victory over Irene Aldana at UFC 289 last June.

Additional main card matchups consist of a welterweight encounter with Neil Magny facing Mike Malott, a middleweight clash featuring Chris Curtis against Marc-Andre Barriault, and an interesting featherweight bout between Arnold Allen and Movsar Evloev.

Check out the complete lineup of UFC 297 fights below:

Main Card

Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis (middleweight title bout)

Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva (women's bantamweight title bout)

Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott (welterweight bout)

Chris Curtis vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (middleweight bout)

Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev (featherweight bout)

Preliminary Card

Charles Jourdain vs. Sean Woodson (featherweight bout)

Brad Katona vs. Garrett Armfield (bantamweight bout)

Serhiy Sidey vs. Ramon Taveras (bantamweight bout)

Gillian Robertson vs. Polyana Viana (strawweight bout)

Yohan Lainesse vs. Sam Patterson (welterweight bout)

Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Priscila Cachoeira (women's flyweight bout)

Malcolm Gordon vs. Jimmy Flick (flyweight bout)