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Quick Answer: You can watch UFC 297 by buying the PPV livestream on ESPN+. Alternatively, you can watch UFC 297 on the U.K.’s BT Sport using a VPN (to avoid paying the PPV fee altogether).
After one of the most exciting championship wins of 2023, Sean Strickland is back in the octagon this weekend to defend his middleweight belt. He’ll be across from former KSW Welterweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis as the duo headlines UFC 297 — the first UFC PPV event of the year.
If you’re looking to watch the event online, read on. Below is a full guide on all the ways to livestream UFC 297 — including a way to get a discount on the Strickland vs. Du Plessis PPV from ESPN+ (through Jan. 15 only).
How to Watch UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis
As with all other UFC events, ESPN+ is the only place where U.S. viewers can watch UFC 297. If you’re already an ESPN+ subscriber, buy the UFC 297 PPV here for $79.99.
If you don’t have an ESPN+ account, you’ll need to sign up to purchase the Strickland vs. Du Plessis PPV. You can sign up for a month-to-month plan that costs $10.99 a month, or an annual plan that costs $109 a year. Another option is to get the Disney Bundle, which includes ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+, all for $14.99 a month.
One way for new ESPN+ subscribers to save some money is to get the UFC PPV + ESPN+ annual plan bundle. This bundle lowers the price of a year of ESPN+ and the UFC 297 PPV livestream to $134.98, which is $55 less than getting an annual plan and the PPV livestream separately.
UFC 297 Discount
For UFC 297 and 298, ESPN+ is testing out a new type of discount. They’re offering $10 off the PPV price for fans who purchase the fight early, with the discount running now through Jan. 15. This brings the price of the Strickland vs. Du Plessis PPV stream down to $69.99. The deal ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Jan. 15.
Stream UFC 297 With a VPN
Even with the discount above, UFC PPV events are not cheap. However, U.S. viewers can avoid paying the PPV price by using a VPN to watch events on BT Sport. The U.K. service is normally geo-blocked in the U.S., but a good VPN like ExpressVPN will let you livestream UFC fights on BT Sport from anywhere. Grab ExpressVPN for $12.95 a month here, and enjoy a 30-day money-back guarantee if you want a refund after watching Strickland vs. Du Plessis.
Once you’ve got a VPN, set your location to anywhere in the U.K. and sign up for BT Sport. It costs £29.99 a month (or about $38), which is pricey but still far less than the PPV price through ESPN+.
When is UFC 297? Date, Start Time
UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 20 inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The main card starts at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT with prelims happening two hours before that.
Where to Buy Tickets to UFC 297
The only thing better than getting a UFC PPV stream? Seeing it in person, of course. If you’re in the Toronto area on Jan. 20, you can pick up tickets to UFC 297 on StubHub, Ticketmaster, Vivid Seats, or Seat Geek. We’re seeing the lowest prices on StubHub (as of writing), which has tickets starting at $224.
UFC 297 Fight Card
Even though a couple of big fights were removed from the UFC 297 card, we’ll still get some great bouts ahead of the Strickland vs. Du Plessis. The co-main, for one, will be a bantamweight championship bout between Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva.
Here’s the full UFC 297 fight card:
Main Card
Sean Strickland (c) vs. Dricus Du Plessis — UFC Middleweight Championship
Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva — UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship
Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott — Welterweights
Chris Curtis vs. Marc-André Barriault — Middleweight
Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev — Featherweights
Prelims
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
Early Prelims
Yohan Lainesse vs. Sam Patterson — Welterweight
Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Priscila Cachoeira — Women’s Flyweight
Malcolm Gordon vs. Jimmy Flick — Flyweight
