UFC 297: Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis live results [UPDATED]

Tension and drama are at an all-time high in the UFC middleweight championship contest that headlines UFC 297 in Toronto on Jan. 20.

The main event of the pay-per-view will see Sean Strickland make his first defense of the title, as he takes on Dricus Du Plessis, a rising contender who has become a heated rival to Strickland of late.

The pre-fight build has seen everything from a brawl in the crowd last month at UFC 296, to heated press conferences, to even Strickland threatening to stab his opponent in a podcast interview.

This fight will mark Strickland's first defense of the UFC middleweight championship, which he won off Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September - a fight that will go down as one of the greatest upsets in the history of MMA, let alone the UFC.

Du Plessis has had a solid rise to the top in the Octagon thus far, currently 6-0 in the UFC. After wins over the likes of Darren Till and Derek Brunson, Du Plessis became just the second man to finish former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July. Du Plessis had championship success prior to his UFC days, holding the KSW welterweight championship and the EFC (Africa) middleweight and welterweight titles.

A new champion will be guaranteed in the co-main event, as Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva face off for the vacant UFC women's bantamweight title. The championship has been vacant since the end of UFC 289, which saw then-champ Amanda Nunes retire following a final successful title defense.

Pennington has won five straight and six of her last seven, most recently defeating Ketlen Viera via split decision one year ago. Bueno Silva, meanwhile, is unbeaten in four straight. She most recently fought Holly Holm in July, a fight that Bueno Silva originally won by submission. The result was overturned to a no-contest, however, after Bueno Silva tested positive for ritalinic acid.

Complete UFC 297 results [UPDATED LIVE]

MAIN CARD

• Dricus Du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland via split decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48)
• Raquel Pennington defeated Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)
• Neil Magny defeated Mike Malott via TKO, Round 3 - 4:45
• Chris Curtis defeated Marc-Andre Barriault via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
• Movsar Evloev defeated Arnold Allen via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

PRELIMS

• Garrett Armfield defeated Brad Katona via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
• Sean Woodson defeated Charles Jourdain via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
• Ramon Taveras defeated Serhiy Sidey via split decision (29-28, 29028, 28-29)
• Gillian Robertson defeated Polyana Viana via TKO, Round 2 - 3:12

EARLY PRELIMS

• Sam Patterson defeated Yohan Lainesse via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1 - 2:03
• Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Priscila Cachoeira via submission (anaconda choke), Round 3 - 4:21
• Jimmy Flick defeated Malcolm Gordon via submission (arm triangle), Round 2 - 1:17