UFC 297 (on December 16, 2023) is a PPV card scheduled in Toronto headlined by a middleweight title fight between the brash champion Sean Strickland and South African standout Dricus Du Plessis. The main event features a women’s bantamweight title fight between Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva. They’ll be battling for the belt that long time champion Amanda Nunes vacated when she retired.
Update: The prelims started off strong with four finishes but the rest of the card was a grind with mostly decisions across the late prelims and main card. One highlight was Neil Magny’s last minute upset of up and comer Mike Mallott. In the Co-main event, Raquel Pennington used the clinch to wear down Mayra Bueno Silva. Silva threatened with submissions several times in the early rounds but Pennington was able to escape. By the 4th round, Silva was exhausted and spent most of the final two rounds on her back. With the win, Pennington claimed the vacant bantamweight women’s title. The main event saw another grind between defending champion Sean Strickland and challenger Dricus Du Plessis. Strickland controlled the first round with his jab but the South African was able to finish several takedowns which tipped the split decision verdict to his side. DDP’s win could setup some fun future fights including a potential rematch with Strickland or a grudge match with Israel Adesanya. Du Plessis becomes the first ever champ from South Africa. Bonuses are assumed until annonced.
Assumptions:
Assuming main event and co-main event fighters are getting PPV Share
Assuming 350,000 PPV Views only for estimation purposes based on the drawing power of this card.
Assuming Sean Strickland is getting paid flat with no potential win bonus
*Note that the official payouts have not been disclosed for this fight card in Toronto so the salaries listed are based on estimates of previous contracts, trends, and drawing power. Other assumptions are made like expected contract changes. All promotional compliance pay figures are based on the formula negotiated with Venum.
Total Payout for UFC 297: $4,319,500
Venum (Sponsorship) Fighter payout: $285,500
Performance Bonus money paid out: $200,000 (TBD)
UFC 297 Detailed Payouts
| Fighter | Opponent | Date | Event | Result | Base Salary | Win Bonus | PPV Buys | PPV Payout (est) | Performance Bonus | Sponsorship | Total | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Strickland | Dricus Du Plessis | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $1,200,000 | $0 | 350,000 | $150,000 | $42,000 | $1,392,000 | ||
| Dricus du Plessis | Sean Strickland | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $300,000 | $300,000 | $32,000 | $632,000 | ||||
| Neil Magny | Mike Malott | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $120,000 | $120,000 | $50,000 | $21,000 | $311,000 | |||
| Arnold Allen | Movsar Evloev | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $72,000 | $0 | $11,000 | $83,000 | ||||
| Raquel Pennington | Mayra Bueno Silva | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $150,000 | $150,000 | $32,000 | $332,000 | ||||
| Mayra Bueno Silva | Raquel Pennington | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $100,000 | $0 | $32,000 | $132,000 | ||||
| Mike Malott | Neil Magny | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $60,000 | $0 | $4,500 | $64,500 | ||||
| Chris Curtis | Marc-André Barriault | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $72,000 | $72,000 | $6,000 | $150,000 | ||||
| Marc-André Barriault | Chris Curtis | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $50,000 | $0 | $11,000 | $61,000 | ||||
| Movsar Evloev | Arnold Allen | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $72,000 | $72,000 | $6,000 | $150,000 | ||||
| Brad Katona | Garrett Armfield | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $50,000 | $0 | $6,000 | $56,000 | ||||
| Garrett Armfield | Brad Katona | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $20,000 | $20,000 | $4,000 | $44,000 | ||||
| Charles Jourdain | Sean Woodson | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $50,000 | $0 | $11,000 | $61,000 | ||||
| Sean Woodson | Charles Jourdain | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $50,000 | $50,000 | $6,000 | $106,000 | ||||
| Ramon Taveras | Serhiy Sidey | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $16,000 | $16,000 | $4,000 | $36,000 | ||||
| Serhiy Sidey | Ramon Taveras | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $16,000 | $0 | $50,000 | $4,000 | $70,000 | |||
| Gillian Robertson | Polyana Viana | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $60,000 | $60,000 | $16,000 | $136,000 | ||||
| Polyana Viana | Gillian Robertson | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $50,000 | $0 | $6,000 | $56,000 | ||||
| Sam Patterson | Yohan Lainesse | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $20,000 | $20,000 | $50,000 | $4,000 | $94,000 | |||
| Yohan Lainesse | Sam Patterson | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $20,000 | $0 | $4,500 | $24,500 | ||||
| Jasmine Jasudavicius | Priscila Cachoeira | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $48,000 | $48,000 | $6,000 | $102,000 | ||||
| Priscila Cachoeira | Jasmine Jasudavicius | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $50,000 | $0 | $6,000 | $56,000 | ||||
| Jimmy Flick | Malcolm Gordon | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | W | $40,000 | $40,000 | $50,000 | $4,500 | $134,500 | |||
| Malcolm Gordon | Jimmy Flick | 1/20/2024 | UFC 297 | L | $30,000 | $0 | $6,000 | $36,000 |
