UFC 297 sees illegal knee controversy, Israel Adesanya responds to Dricus du Plessis, Frankie Edgar in HOF: MMA News Roundup

UFC 297 witnessed two new champions at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.

After Raquel Pennington defeated Mayra Bueno Silva to win the women's bantamweight belt left vacant by Amanda Nunes, Dricus du Plessis beat Sean Strickland in the headliner to be crowned the new middleweight champion. But there is more that happened on the card.

Catch up with today's top highlights with Sportskeeda's MMA News Roundup.

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Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev marred with illegal knee controversy

The fight between Arnold Allen and Movsar Evloev was halted in the third round due to illegal strikes. Allen stuffed a takedown attempt, had Evloev in a headlock, and proceeded to land knees to the latter's head, which was deemed illegal by referee Marc Goddard.

However, replays of the sequence showed that Evloev's hands were off the mat when the knees were landed, which is a legal scenario.

Watch the clip below:

MMA pros and fans collectively called out Goddard for the decision, in which he surprisingly did not deduct a point. ESPN's Marc Raimondi later reported that as per the rules in the state of Ontario, weight-bearing does not matter, and "if any part of the body other than the soles of the feet is on the mat, a blow to the head from a kick or a knee is illegal."

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Israel Adesanya gives cryptic reaction to Dricus Du Plessis' call-out

Dricus du Plessis expectedly called out Israel Adesanya after dethroning Sean Strickland as the middleweight champion at UFC 297.

He said:

"There was another guy who tried to take my shine, he lost his shine. Now I have your shine. You didn't get into the cage tonight, but Israel Adesanya, get your a** back in the UFC so we can settle the score!"

Adesanya responded in his usual cryptic manner with a story posted on Instagram:

"Never stole shine. Never lost mine!!"

The two previously faced off in a heated staredown following Du Plessis' victory over Robert Whittaker. Adesanya hurled a series of N-word-laced trash-talk at Du Plessis, which sparked mixed reactions on social media.

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Frankie Edgar inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame

Frankie Edgar is going to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as a member of the 2024 class. The news was revealed during the live broadcast of UFC 297. The induction will take place this summer during the International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

Edgar was visibly emotional after Dana White's announcement. Backstage, he said:

"I definitely didn't expect this to happen. I mean, that's just f***ing amazing."

Dustin Poirier, Chris Weidman, and other fighters reacted to Edgar's induction.