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Ultimate Fighting Championship will stage its first pay-per-view (PPV) event of the New Year 2024 this weekend (Sat., Jan. 20, 2024) inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as UFC 297 hosts a Middleweight title fight between Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis. But, that is just the tip of the iceberg of what the promotion has planned for the year.

According to UFC CEO, Dana White, 2024 could be the promotion’s biggest year ever thanks to its upcoming slate and huge plans that matchmakers have on deck.

“Goosebumps, you are giving me goosebumps,” an excited White said when talking to Sportsnet about what the promotion has planned for 2024. “We got this Toronto now, we got Anaheim [UFC 298], we got UFC 300, Miami [UFC 299] is ridiculous. We then got the Sphere, which will be the greatest live sporting event anyone has ever seen. Just wait until you see how this plays out.

“For those of you who haven’t experienced the Sphere yet, what this building is capable of doing is beyond belief,” White continued. “We talk about it everyday, we are deep into it and that fight is not until September.”

UFC 298 is set to go down on Feb. 17, 2024, featuring a Featherweight title fight between division kingpin, Alexander Volkanovski, battling it out against Ilia Topuria, while Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa will go toe-to-toe in a pivotal Middleweight affair.

Three weeks later, the promotion will invade South Beach as UFC 299 will take place in Miami, Fla., featuring a stacked card headlined by Sean O’Malley defending his Bantamweight belt against Marlon Vera. In the co-main event, Dustin Poirier battles Benoit Saint-Denis, while Gilbert Burns faces Jack Della Maddalena.

But, of course, the granddaddy of them all is UFC 300, which is set to go down in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 13, 2024. White promised a massive card for the event, and while the lineup looks juiced so far, it isn’t exactly what fight fans were hoping for. That said, there is still a matter of a promised “rabbit in the hat” that could flip the script.

As far as the second half of the year, White says it will be massive because we will witness the “greatest return” of two of the sports biggest stars: Jon Jones and Conor McGregor.

“And after all of these fights were are talking about play out, we start heading into September, October, November which stuff will be built that we can’t even wrap our head around now. It will all be determined by everything that plays out in these fights that we are talking about,” White added, before giving updates on “Bones” and “Notorious.”

“McGregor will be back this year, possibly him and Chandler, we will see how all of this plays out. And Jon Jones versus Stipe this summer.”

McGregor’s return has been delayed for one reason or another, but it seems he could be on track to fight this year, and Chandler has been more than willing to be patient in to cash in on “Red Panty Night.” As for Jones, his comeback was delayed because of injury, leading a back-and-forth between him and current interim roost-ruler, Tom Aspinall.

Nevertheless, White and Co. are eager to roll out the goods for fight fans in 2024, but it remains to be seen if it will be as profitable as 2023. But, judging by this and this, it very well could be.

Remember that “secret sauce,” too.

To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events for 2024 click here.

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Dan Ige has a new opponent for his next UFC bout.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Ige will now face Andre Fili at UFC Vegas 86, which takes place Feb. 10 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. MMA Junkie first reported the new booking.

Fili will step in to replace Lerone Murphy, who was forced to withdraw from the scheduled featherweight bout due to an undisclosed injury. Murphy’s scratch was first reported by Violent Money TV.

Ige is set to make his 16th octagon appearance, and looks to bounce back from a decision loss to Bryce Mitchell at UFC Vegas 79 this past September. Prior to that, “50K” halted a three-fight skid by picking up back-to-back wins over Damon Jackson and Nate Landwehr.

Fili gets a quick turnaround after an incredible performance against Lucas Almeida at December’s UFC 296 event, finishing his opponent via TKO in the first-round.

UFC Vegas 86 will be headlined by a middleweight bout between Jack Hermansson and Joe Pyfer.

Damon Martin contributed to this report.

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Sparring with Sean Strickland is not advised.

Power Slapper Coltin Cole found out the hard way when he stepped inside the ring with the reigning UFC middleweight world champion during a recent episode of PowerSlap: Road to the Title. Cole.

“Who wants to box?” Strickland asked the group of PowerSlap hopefuls working out at the facility. Cole quickly stepped forward prompting Strickland to ask if he had any boxing experience. Cole claimed to have had one professional boxing match, 22 amateur MMA fights, and twelve pro MMA fights.

That’s all Strickland needed to hear.

As expected, ‘Tarzan’ didn’t hold back during their brief encounter, landing some brutal body shots that eventually dropped Cole. It was just another day at the office for Strickland, but Cole was left the worse for wear, noticing a painful lump developing over his ribs. It’s uncertain if Cole suffered a broken rib, but he was noticeably struggling to move.

On Saturday, January 20, Strickland will put his 185-pound crown on the line for the first time since claiming the crown with a decisive unanimous decision victory over Israel Adesanya in September.

Standing in Strickland’s way of his first successful defense at UFC 297 is Dricus Du Plessis, a South African finisher riding an eight-fight win streak, including a stunning second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker over the summer.

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Since joining the UFC and becoming a household name in the world of combat sports, Alex Pereira has always been considered an emotionless, stone-cold killer. So, fans were understandably shocked to see a different side of the Brazilian when he made his relationship with Merle Christine public.

‘Poatan’ is considered one of the scariest fighters in the sport and his stare alone is enough to strike fear into the hearts of many. Not only does he look tough, but he is also one of the very best athletes in the world today, having captured UFC titles in two separate weight classes in just seven fights with the promotion.

A revealing interview recently surfaced which brought new information to light regarding Alex Pereira’s relationship with Merle. Fans will no longer have to speculate on why the pair broke up after the light heavyweight champion detailed exactly why he and his ex-partner went their separate ways.

“Well, it’s a little hard to talk about this. Because for me, I already deleted this person from my life,” Pereira said in response to his recent breakup. “I would also like to ask my fans to also delete her from your life.”

“It was a person I believed. I put her in my house together with my family. After all, I found out she was married.” [h/t Full Send MMA]

Check out what Alex Pereira said about his recent breakup in the short clip below.

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Related: Alex Pereira hints at heavyweight title fight at UFC 300, Tom Aspinall responds

What’s next for Alex Pereira?

Alex Pereira seems unphased since the breakup and is ready to return to the octagon imminently. The South American has hinted at a potential title defense, with multiple top 205ers hoping to be next.

Magomed Ankalaev called for his shot at the champion following his impressive second-round knockout of Johnny Walker last time out.

While the Russian is a viable option, it seems Pereira has his attention elsewhere. In a post on social media, the kickboxer insisted that he’s focused on Jamahal Hill and would happily give the former champion a chance at reclaiming the crown that he never officially lost.

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A post shared by Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@alexpoatanpereira)

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Sean Strickland had the Toronto crowd eating out of the palm of his hand at Thursday’s UFC 297 press conference ahead of his title defense against Dricus du Plessis. With a victory, where could it propel Strickland in terms of being a top draw for the UFC moving forward?

On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck reacts to the wild pre-fight presser in Toronto, how over Strickland was with the crowd, and his approach to a gentleman’s agreement for an all-out war with du Plessis. Additionally, topics include multiple fighters missing weight for UFC 297, the stakes in the Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev fight on Saturday, Mike Malott fighting the experienced Neil Magny and if the betting line is a bit wider than expected, Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway, UFC Saudi Arabia, and more.

You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on the MMA Fighting Twitter Spaces.

If you miss it live, audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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