UFC 297 Predictions

UFC’s first numbered event of 2024 has arrived and takes place this weekend with the newly-crowned Middleweight Champion, Sean Strickland, defending his title against #2 ranked Dricus Du Plessis. Also, we enter a new era of the women’s bantamweight MMA following the retirement of the great Amanda Nunes, as Raquel Pennington faces Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant belt.

#4 Arnold Allen vs #9 Movsar Evloev – Featherweight Division

This is a great fight to open the card. The classic striker vs wrestler matchup presents itself in the night’s first fight. Allen is a striker with brilliant footwork and will have to use that in this fight if he’s to keep this fight standing. The Englishman cannot be too square against a pressure fighter like Evloev, who will be looking to use the cage to control his opponent on the cage before taking him down. One uncertain factor heading into this fight is Allen’s takedown defence. Allen has yet to face an elite-level wrestler in his UFC run, with Evloev being his first major grappling threat. How he defends the first attempt may be telling for the rest of the fight. Despite this, I believe Allen’s fast hands and nifty footwork will be enough for him to damage Evloev and pick up a win by decision.

Prediction: Arnold Allen by Decision

#14 Chris Curtis vs Marc-Andre Barriault – Middleweight Division

On paper, Chris Curtis vs Marc-Andre Barriault is my fight of the night. Curtis has incredible power with crisp boxing, allowing him to knock out an opponent at any point. Barriault loves a war and will walk down his opponents, pushing them back into the cage, mixing some dirty boxing and elbows to wear them down. Despite this, Barriault can be poor defensively, leaving his chin either high or open for a countershot, something he cannot afford to do against Chris Curtis, who has a history of making fighters pay for their mistakes. Another thing that Curtis has in his back pocket is that he trains with Sean Strickland, who is arguably a more polished, defensively sound version of Barriault. He’ll be used to being walked down under constant pressure and trying to find adequate shots to counter. Due to this, I think Chris Curtis will win this fight by knockout.

Prediction: Chris Curtis by KO in round one

#13 Neil Magny vs Mike Malott – Welterweight Division

Neil Magny returns to the Octagon after losing Ian Garry at UFC 292 to face another young talent in Mike Malott. The rising talent is a BJJ black belt, and with every fight, clear improvements are being made to his striking. This, however, is a massive step up in competition, and despite Magny looking much slower than he did in 2020 when he beat Robbie Lawler, Anthony Rocco Martin and Li Jingliang, “The Haitian Sensation” still has an impressive output and will always attempt to outwork his opponent. Nonetheless, Mike Malott should be able to take down and control Magny with relative ease to secure the submission win.

Prediction: Mike Malott by sub in round two

#2 Raquel Pennington vs #3 Mayra Beuno Silva – Women’s Bantamweight Championship

Currently on a five-fight win streak, Raquel Pennington has another opportunity to become UFC Bantamweight Queen. Pennington is primarily a boxer but is relatively well-rounded. Silva, on the other hand, is an excellent jiu-jitsu practitioner and by far the best in the division and grabbing a decision. Silva tends to tire out very quickly, however, and if she doesn’t get the finish in the first two rounds, she can become very sloppy on the feet, becoming flat-footed, which is something Pennington will definitely be able to take advantage of if the fight makes it to the championship rounds. Pennington should invest in the body as soon as possible; the longer the fight goes, the greater her chances of winning. This is a tough fight to predict, but I’m taking Mayra Bueno Silva by submission in round two.

Prediction: Mayra Bueno Silva by sub in round 2

(c) Sean Strickland vs #2 Dricus Du Plessis – Middleweight Championship

This is one of the most interesting style matchups I’ve seen in the UFC. Strickland is one of the best boxers in the UFC. When people talk about this category of UFC fighters, it mainly concerns how clean their offensive boxing is, but for the champ, it’s the opposite. His defensive boxing is some of the best you’ll see from an MMA fighter. The way he parries oncoming strikes and then uses his jab to perfection whilst constantly walking down his opponent is damn-near impeccable. Du Plessis’ style is very different and odd, yet effective. Du Plessis likes to throw everything with power and conviction straight from the word go. Whilst Strickland is patient, normally using a simple jab and straight combination, Du Plessis likes to rush his opponent with a six-punch combination. His timing is also very offbeat, making it hard to know when he will throw, something Robert Whittaker struggled to figure out.

Like the other title fight, we have two fighters with two different gas tanks. Strickland has fought in several five-round UFC fights, whereas this is Du Plessis’ first. In the past, the challenger has suffered from cardio issues but still has the ability to either find or win the fight. Du Plessis has also fixed his nasal issue that caused the cardio issues, so if this fight makes it to the championship rounds, supposedly, he should be fine, but that is yet to be seen. With the big energy actions he likes to take early on, it will be interesting to see if that holds up over five rounds.

This is a tough fight to predict because both men are very different in style but relatively evenly matched. Nevertheless, I’m taking Strickland to defend his title by decision in a very close fight.

Prediction: Sean Strickland by decision