UFC 297 fight card: What do we know so far? A preview of the upcoming octagon showdown in Toronto, Canada

UFC 297 transpires at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 20, 2024.

The full UFC 297 fight card, at this juncture, can be found below.

In the main event of the evening, Sean Strickland embarks on the first defense of his UFC middleweight title. The polarizing pugilist will test his skills with the UFC's number two-ranked 185-pounder, Dricus Du Plessis. Strickland is looking to build off of his impressive title win over Israel Adesanya, while DDP looks to continue to impress after his finish of former champion Robert Whittaker.

The co-main event of 2024's first kickoff pay-per-view sees Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva collide. The number two and three ranked contenders at 135 pounds, respectively, will fight for the vacant UFC women's bantamweight championship.

This UFC bantamweight belt has been without a titleholder since Amanda Nunes' retirement, and the winner of this bout would become the seventh champion in the lineage of that title.

Also, in a hugely intriguing clash at 145 pounds, number four-ranked Arnold Allen faces off with the number nine-ranked contender Movsar Evloev in a massive featherweight fight. The winner becomes well-positioned in the title contender hierarchy throughout 2024.

Check out Evloev's impressive UFC run, so far, below:

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UFC 297 Fight Card continued

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz looks to get back into the win column against a familiar foe in Aleksandar Rakic. Does Blachowicz go 2-0 in the rematch here, or does Rakic tie up the series in The Six?

Stalwart welterweight contender Neil Magny stands in the way of the surging partisan favorite Mike Malott, who looks to put on a show for his compatriots in the crowd. The great fight north will be treated to quite the tantalizing crossroads contest in the welterweight category.

Also, on this January event, Chris Curtis and Marc Andre Barriault battle in what should be an exciting middleweight matchup. 'The Action Man' looks to halt Barriault's momentum, while 'Powerbar' aims to represent will with a win for the Canadian combatants.

The remaining bouts set for the UFC 297 fight card, as of this writing, are as follows:

• Brad Katona vs Garrett Armfield
• Gillian Robertson vs Polyana Viana
• Serhiy Sidey vs Ramon Taveras
• Malcolm Gordon vs Jimmy Flick
• Neil Magny vs Mike Malott
• Yohan Lainesse vs Sam Patterson
• Charles Jourdain vs Sean Woodson
• Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Priscila Cachoeira
• Dominick Reyes vs Carlos Ulberg