Less than ten days away from the date, the UFC 297 fight card has lost another intriguing fight.
With New Zealander Carlos Ulberg sustaining an injury, former light heavyweight title contender Dominick Reyes will have to wait a bit longer to make it back into the octagon.
Luckily, the fight has already been rescheduled for UFC Atlantic City on March 30 instead of the current UFC 297 date of January 20, 2024.
Before we dive in, if you’re interested in trying to win on UFC 297 or other combat sports events like boxing, we highly recommend utilizing this guide on the UFC odds courtesy of Overtime Heroics.
After a solid start to his career, including a 12-fight winning streak and two bouts for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, Reyes has now lost four in a row, the most recent being a November 12, 2022, loss at the hands of Ryan Spann.
A win in this fight would have been a massive step in getting his once-promising fight career headed back in the right direction.
This marks the second fight that has had to be removed from the UFC 297 card, with the other potential being an even more significant loss. Polish former Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Błachowicz was set for an exciting rematch with Aleksandar Rakić.
When the two first fought in 2022, Błachowicz won on a TKO after Rakić tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the third round.
Following an extensive rehab process, Rakić was just weeks away from getting his second shot before Błachowicz withdrew in order to get surgery to fix lingering issues with his shoulder.
Fortunately for Rakić, he’ll still be facing top-quality competition in the near future. The Austrian is now set to face another former Light Heavyweight Champion, Jiří Procházka, at UFC 300.
Dana White and UFC could constantly scramble for a replacement, but with the lineup as is, do they really even have to?
Luckily, UFC 297’s location in Toronto, Canada, pairs perfectly with many of the bouts remaining on the card.
Both Charles Jourdain from the suburbs of Montreal and 2x Ultimate Fighter champion Brad Katona from Winnipeg are excellent Canadian fighters who would be a hit with the crowd if either of their fights opened up the main card.
Moreover, the two main card events are still intact, with a couple of championship belts on the line. In the first, Sean Strickland will have the maiden title defense of his UFC career, facing the dangerous South African Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight crown.
Both fighters are in excellent form, and this is shaping up to be one of the best bouts of the year.
On the other, there has been less buzz due to the lack of big names, but that doesn’t mean the stakes are any lower. After former champion Amanda Nunes announced her retirement following a victory at UFC 289, the Women’s Bantamweight Division was left wide open, and we’ll see the title fight to decide who takes the vacant belt at UFC 291 between former challenger Raquel Pennington and the Brazilian Mayra Bueno Silva.
The UFC 297 card might be looking a little weaker, but we’re still expecting an incredible night filled with some surprisingly competitive fights. As with other UFC fights, UFC 297 will be available to watch on PPV through ESPN+ for $79.99.
