Fight Facts: UFC 297 ‘Strickland vs. Du Plessis’

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and Octagon oddities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 7,488
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 676

The Ultimate Fighting Championship trekked to Canada with a card that had plenty of build-up during fight week. While the promotion jammed the lineup with locals to give fans plenty to cheer about, the Canadian combatants largely got crushed by night’s end. UFC 297 featured unexpectedly foul taunts by the disgruntled regional crowd, a stunning comeback by a veteran known for them and the coronation of two new champions.

No Luck for the Canucks: Nine different competitors repped Canada at the Toronto-based UFC 297. All seven of the male Canucks came up short, while the two women from the Great White North both had their hands raised.

Time for UFC Africa: Dricus Du Plessis won middleweight gold by beating Sean Strickland by decision. He becomes the first champ from the nation of South Africa and the fourth African-born titleholder overall.

The Nose WAS the Problem: Needing all 25 minutes to prevail, Du Plessis went to the scorecards for the second time in his career. The first came when he faced Brad Tavares in 2022.

Gone but Not Forgotten: Strickland claimed the 185-pound throne against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September 2023 and lost it in January 2024, with a reign of 132 days. His championship run is not the shortest in divisional history, as Evan Tanner (119) and Dave Menne (105) both lost their titles sooner, not counting Georges St. Pierre (33) relinquishing in 2017 without defending.

New Look, Same Bland Taste: The vacant championship pairing of Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva marked the first 135-pound title tilt not featuring Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm or Amanda Nunes. Pennington picked up the unanimous verdict to stage the mild betting upset.

The Best the Division Can Offer: Pennington earned her 12th win at the UFC’s bantamweight division, one shy of divisional leader Amanda Nunes. Her 17 appearances in the weight category are the most, as are her 10 triumphs on the scorecards.

It’s All Gravy from Here: It took Pennington 18 fights under the UFC banner to claim a title. She is now the longest-tenured woman in promotional history to finally pick up a belt, surpassing Jessica Andrade winning the 115-pound strap in her 15th UFC bout.

Slammed the Gate Shut: Neil Magny pulled off the upset to defeat Mike Malott, earning his 22nd UFC win. That tally is good for the fourth-most in company history, while he continued to add his record at 170 pounds.

Calling Hector Lombard: Of his various triumphs, Magny posts five stoppages in the third round. He now celebrates the most in UFC welterweight history, while Yoel Romero and Randy Couture (six each) and Max Holloway (seven) have more overall.

Dana Hated This Fight: With his decision win over Arnold Allen, Movsar Evloev is now 18-0 as a pro. All eight of his wins in the UFC have come at the hands of the judges.

Nothing If Not Effective: Evloev landed five takedowns, increasing his total to 38 – with 36 coming at featherweight. He moves up on the leaderboard into a tie for the third-most in the division’s history with Enrique Barzola. Dennis Bermudez’ 46 and Darren Elkins’ 61 stand above the pack.

An Arm’s Length: Garrett Armfield won a close decision over Brad Katona to put himself on his first win streak in the UFC. The Missouri native had only won once via scorecards before the Katona match.

Different from the TUF Houses: While Armfield has generally avoided the final bell as a pro, Katona went the distance for the 12th time in his career. His fight with Armfield was his 16th overall.

.50 Cal Rubber Bullets: Sean Woodson outstruck Charles Jourdain to pick up a split call and, in the process, lowered his career finish rate to 36%. “The Sniper” has only earned one stoppage across his five UFC victories.

Pay-Per-Contender Series: Avenging a 2023 loss, Ramon Tavares bested Serhiy Sidey via split decision. “The Savage” had only once before gone to a decision before this rematch.

Canadian Chemical Reaction: Niagara Falls, Ontario-born Gillian Robertson has only competed in her home country twice as a pro: at UFC 240 in 2019 and UFC 297. She also celebrates two knockouts, those coming at UFCs 240 and 297.

Fringe Destroyer: The former flyweight picked up her ninth stoppage since joining the roster in 2017. She and Andrade are tied for the second-most finishes in UFC women’s divisional history, and both are one short of Nunes’ 10.

This Is the Right Division: In just over two minutes, Sam Patterson throttled Yohan Lainesse with a rear-naked choke. “The Future” has performed 10 of his 11 pro wins inside the distance.

Deserved It: Punctuating a “Beatdown of the Year” candidate with an anaconda choke of Priscila Cachoeira, Jasmine Jasudavicius dominated her opponent. The submission was the Niagara Top Team fighter’s first tapout win since her pro debut in 2019.

No Escape for Eye Gougers: After nearly three lopsided rounds, Jasudavicius outlanded Cachoeira 93-24 with significant strikes but a stunning 326 to 26 in terms of total strikes. Her 326 puts her with the fourth-most in a single UFC fight—although she is 121 shy of Max Holloway laying 447 on Calvin Kattar in 2021.

A Flick of the Shoulder: Rebounding from a rough first round, Jimmy Flick secured a Round 2 arm-triangle choke tapout of Malcolm Gordon. The Oklahoman has performed 15 of his 17 wins via submission, with at least eight arm-triangles to his credit.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 297, Du Plessis had never competed beyond the third round (22 fights), Allen had never suffered consecutive defeats (21 fights) and Viana had never been knocked out (19 fights).

You Gotta Hit ‘N Run: As he has done for all seven of his UFC entrances, Du Plessis selected “Live It Up” by Airbourne as his walkout tune. “Stillknocks” is still undefeated in the UFC when this song plays in the arena.

You Thought You Knew Me: Chris Curtis has made eight walks to the Octagon and has been accompanied by different music each time. Against Marc-Andre Barriault, “The Action Man” went with “Metalingus” by Alter Bridge, also known as the theme song for WWE wrestler Edge. He is the first UFC fighter to pick this song and prevailed.