In a social media video announcement on Monday, UFC president Dana White revealed several pay-per-view main events for the start of 2024. These fights are set to serve as the headline acts for the first three UFC PPV events of the year.
"In January, we're doing Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis. In February, we're doing Volkanovski vs. Topuria and in March, we're doing O'Malley vs. Vera," White said.
"Busting into the new year with some fun fights. I'll see you guys in New York City."
Meanwhile, the immediate focus remains on UFC 295 this Saturday, which will be broadcast live on TNT Sports and Discovery+. Headlining the event is a highly anticipated clash between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira, with the co-main event featuring Sergei Pavlovich squaring off against Britain's Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight championship.
For the last match of 2023, Las Vegas will host a welterweight championship clash at UFC 296. Leon Edwards will defend his title against second-ranked contender Colby Covington on Saturday, December 16, at the T-Mobile Arena. Newly crowned flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will also embark on his first title defense, seeking redemption against fourth-ranked contender Brandon Royval.
Details for early 2024 events
The year 2024 kicks off with three major title showdowns. The first event, UFC 297, is officially scheduled for January 20 in Toronto, as reported by ESPN. The card will feature newly crowned middleweight champion Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) defending his title against Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC).
Strickland claimed the title at UFC 293 in September, putting on a dominant performance against Israel Adesanya to secure a unanimous decision victory. His ascent to the championship was made possible due to Du Plessis' inability to make a swift turnaround after his victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July.
Moving on to UFC 298, UFC fans can look forward to a featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) and Ilia Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), set to occur in February. While the event's date and location have yet to be confirmed, speculation suggests it will take place in Las Vegas during Super Bowl weekend.
Volkanovski, who recently suffered a brutal knockout defeat in a rematch with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev on short notice, aims to reclaim his winning ways. As an undefeated featherweight in the UFC, Volkanovski faces a tough challenge in Topuria, who holds a 14-0 professional record.
Then, UFC 299 will witness bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley making his first title defense. O'Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) is set to square off against Marlon Vera (23-8-1 MMA, 15-7 UFC) in a highly anticipated rematch of their August 2020 fight. The event's date and location are yet to be confirmed.
O'Malley clinched the championship in August with a knockout victory over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. His opponent, Vera, is the only fighter to have defeated O'Malley in professional MMA. Their initial encounter took place at UFC 252 in August 2020 when Vera landed a leg kick that eventually led to a stoppage before the first round's conclusion.
Since their first bout, Vera has amassed a record of 5-2, enduring a loss to Jose Aldo before commencing on a four-fight winning streak, which was later snapped by a split decision defeat against Cory Sandhagen. Vera's latest win came in August when he secured a unanimous decision victory over Pedro Munhoz.
