Sean Strickland vs Dricus du Plessis – UFC 297: Start time, undercard results and round-by-round updates as controversial middleweight champion defends his title – with main card starting NOW

Solid start for Allen and he looks extremely light on his feet and confident, landing a couple of nice body shots. But the Russian has his own success with the jab and doesn’t sustain any serious damage. He takes the Brit down towards the end of the round but he manages to scramble well, not enough to win the round, which was close, but could be a sign of things to come.

This is one of the most intriguing match-ups on the entire card. Allen has strutted out to ‘We Will Rock You’, which always goes down an absolute treat. Second time I’ve heard that today after watching Knight’s Tale earlier.

Allen is out to show his game is well rounded against a wrestling supremo, having fought strikers in his recent bouts. An impressive display here puts him right back in the mix for the featherweight title shot.

Here we go! Strickland and Du Plessis appeared on the huge screens inside the arena and were given a massive pop from the crowd. Canadians are out in force for this one and relishing the start of the main card. The pre-lims didn’t exactly catch fire but Arnold Allen should hopefully get them off their feet first up.

Du Plessis has had an air of confidence around him all week, as if to say Strickland isn’t on his level. There have been times when the South African’s cardio has looked suspect and his striking clumsy but he’s mightily effective and yet to be beaten in the UFC.

I spoke to Arnold Allen briefly this week ahead of his return to the octagon nine months after he fell short against Holloway. That defeat still rankles him but a win over the undefeated Evloev tonight would put him right back in the title conversation.

Absolutely bizarre, the crowd think Jordain has won the decision because it’s so loud in Toronto and Bruce Buffer’s call of Sean sounded like Charles, cue celebrations from the Canadian’s camp and the fans before Daniel Cormier had to sheepishly clear it up.

The long list of life and career incident that will blow your mind about Sean Strickland is something that could only be found in MMA. He has endured severe childhood trauma which at least explains his behaviour sometimes without excusing it. Here’s a look inside his world.

Tavares missed weight by four pounds so gets some boos from the crowd as he takes a split decision. Sidy should have had it for my money but it was a close rematch between two guys who fought in the Contender Series when an early stoppage led to tonight’s clash.

Strickland has not always looked the part of an elite level athlete but he’s clearly grafted extremely hard for this one. He knows huge fights are in his future and can cash in on PPV points with a bit of a sustained reign but faces a man in Du Plessis desperate to become the first UFC champ from South Africa.

He does very occasionally get one right but is known for his curse and generally poor betting record. Anyhow, Drake is going big on Strickland tonight…

Canada is a ‘lucky charm’ says Robertson after finishing off Viana in the second round of their contest having dominated for the duration. She’s elite on the ground and threatened a submission in the first before ending up on top again in the second to force the finish with strikes.

Sam spoke to Mail Sport’s James Cohen this week and has managed to back up his words with an impressive first-round submission win. Thw 27-year-old from Walford has a really bright future.

Early pre-lim results:

Jimmy Flick started the show as the first fight of the night in Toronto, beating Malcolm Gordon by second-round submission and there were also wins for JasmineJasudavicius and England’s Sam Patterson, also by submission. Patterson had a nightmare debut last year with a really bad KO defeat so this win will feel extra sweet for him to restart his UFC career in earnest.

Check out who will be in action tonight below:

Sean Strickland (c) vs Dricus du Plessis, middleweight title

Mayra Bueno Silva vs Raquel Pennington, women’s bantamweight title

Mike Malott vs Neil Magny, welterweights

Chris Curtis vs Marc-Andre Barriault, middleweight

Movsar Evloev vs. Arnold Allen, featherweight

Brad Katona vs Garrett Armfield, bantamweight

Charles Jourdain vs Sean Woodson, featherweight

Serhiy Sidey vs. Ramon Taveras, bantamweight

Gillian Robertson vs. Polyana Viana, women’s strawweight

Yohan Lainesse vs Sam Patterson, welterweight

Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Priscila Cachoeira, women’s flyweight

Malcolm Gordon vs Jimmy Flick, flyweight

Good evening, morning or whatever it is where you are… we’re in for a treat tonight with the first major card of the year for the UFC, with the middleweight title on the line in Toronto, Canada.

Sean Strickland was in predictably feral form on the microphone this week and there will be plenty tuning in hoping to see him lose against Dricus du Plessis tonight. Was his incredible win over Israel Adesanya just a flash in the pan or is the new champ here to stay?

Keep it here as we bring you all the pre-lim action, build up to the main card and live updates throughout.