UFC 297 ‘Embedded,’ No. 6: ‘We’re not going to compare shapes. We’re not even in the same bracket’

In the sixth episode of UFC 297 “Embedded,” Dricus Du Plessis talks down the praise of Sean Strickland’s physique.

The UFC is back for its first pay-per-view of 2024, and the popular “Embedded” fight week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.

UFC 297 takes place Saturday at Scotia Bank Arena in Toronto. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.

In the main event, middleweight champion [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) looks to make his first title defense against challenger [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC). And in the co-main event, top contenders [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] (10-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) and [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) will meet for the vacant women’s bantamweight title.

The sixth episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:

“Athletes make weight on Friday morning. Dricus Du Plessis refuels at breakfast. All the athletes face off once more and the two title bouts are set: champ Sean Strickland vs. Du Plessis and Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva.”

Also watch:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

Video: Previewing the two title fights at UFC 297 in Toronto

Our “Spinning Back Clique” breaks down the pair of title fights at the top of UFC 297 in Toronto.

UFC 297 is topped by a pair of title fights in the middleweight and women’s bantamweight divisions.

The main event will see [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] attempt to defend the 185-pound title for the first time as he faces [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]. In the co-feature, the vacant women’s bantamweight title will find a new home as [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] and [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] fight for ownership.

Our “Spinning Back Clique” of Nolan King, Dan Tom and Brian “Goze” Garcia discussed both title fights, giving their thoughts and predictions along with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

You can watch their discussion in the video above, or check out this week’s episode below on YouTube or in podcast form.

UFC 297 video: Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva final faceoff for vacant title fight

Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva had a final staredown before deciding a new women’s 135-pound champ at UFC 297.

TORONTO – There’s only one more step to crown a new women’s bantamweight champion following the final faceoff between UFC 297 co-headliners [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] and [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag].

Pennington (15-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and Bueno Silva (10-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) will fight for the vacant belt left behind in the wake of Amanda Nunes’ retirement this past June when they meet in Saturday’s co-main event at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).

Both women made weight Friday at the official weigh-ins, then hours later squared up at the ceremonial weigh-ins in a respectful manner.

Watch the video above to see the final Pennington vs. Bueno Silva faceoff ahead of UFC 297.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

UFC 297 ‘Embedded,’ No. 5: ‘I’ve never seen her this great before’

In the fifth episode of UFC 297 “Embedded,” Tecia Torres gets emotional talking about wife Raquel Pennington, before her second title shot.

The UFC is back for its first pay-per-view of 2024, and the popular “Embedded” fight week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.

UFC 297 takes place Saturday at Scotia Bank Arena in Toronto. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.

In the main event, middleweight champion [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) looks to make his first title defense against challenger [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC). And in the co-main event, top contenders [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] (10-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) and [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) will meet for the vacant women’s bantamweight title.

The fifth episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:

Champ Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis keep their skills sharp. Mike Malott checks in for a massive opportunity. Athletes including Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva open up at media day.

Also watch:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

UFC 297 breakdown: Why Raquel Pennington’s strengths could play into Mayra Bueno Silva’s game

MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom takes a closer look at the UFC 297 co-main event between Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva.

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the co-main event for UFC 297.

UFC 297 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

UFC 297 video: Raquel Pennington, Mayra Bueno Silva make weight for vacant title fight

The women’s bantamweight division is one step closer to crowning a new champ after Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva made weight for UFC 297.

TORONTO – The women’s bantamweight division is one step closer to a new champion after [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] and [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] made weight for the UFC 297 co-main event.

After Amanda Nunes retired and vacated the title this past June, the promotion will finally determine the new ruler of the weight class when Pennington (15-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and Bueno Silva (10-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) meet in a five-round contest at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) .

Before stepping in the octagon, however, both women had to make weight. They did that Friday at the UFC host hotel, where Pennington weighed 134.8 pounds and Silva registered at 135.

Watch the video above to see Pennington and Silva make weight for their UFC 297 title fight.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

‘Who have you fought?’: Raquel Pennington, Mayra Bueno Silva go after each other at UFC 297 press conference

Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva got heated at Thursday’s UFC 297 press conference.

TORONTO – Just as the bad blood between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis is simmering down, the heat between [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] and [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] is boiling up.

The two women fighting for the vacant UFC women’s bantamweight title this Saturday went after each other in the pre-fight press conference, which took place on Thursday. Both Pennington (15-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and Bueno Silva (10-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) compete in the co-main event of UFC 297.

Bueno Silva, who had been trash-talking Pennington in the lead up to the fight, kept the same energy at the presser.

“Raquel, when you fight, everyone is sleeping,” Bueno Silva said.

Pennington replied,

“Sleeping, really? You’re sitting here talking sh*t, but who have you fought?”

To which Bueno Silva responded,

“I never finish watching one of your fights, because when I watch, I’m sleeping. Everybody is sleeping.”

Pennington then put the argument to bed by bringing it back to what matters,

“You have so much time doing this (talking), but guess what? My fists will do the talking.”

This exchange was one part of the fiery back-and-forth these two had at the pre-fight press conference. You can watch the full video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

Video: Full ‘UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis’ pre-fight press conference

The entire UFC 297 main card, including Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, will attend Thursday’s pre-fight press conference in Toronto.

The UFC 297 pre-fight press conference takes place Thursday, and MMA Junkie will have a live stream of the event beginning at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT).

The entire main card will be in attendance, including [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] and [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag], who fight for the middleweight title in the main event; [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] and [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag], who meet for the vacant women’s bantamweight title in the co-main event; as well as the remaining matchups of Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott, Chris Curtis vs. Marc-Andre Barriault, and Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev.

UFC 297 takes place Saturday at Scotiabank Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

UFC 297 ‘Embedded,’ No. 4: Mayra Bueno Silva has an emotional moment with Mom

In the fourth installment of “Embedded,” Mayra Bueno Silva is brought to tears while her mother assists her during UFC 297 fight week.

The UFC is back for its first pay-per-view of 2024, and the popular “Embedded” fight week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.

UFC 297 takes place Saturday at Scotia Bank Arena in Toronto. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.

In the main event, middleweight champion [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) looks to make his first title defense against challenger [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC). And in the co-main event, top contenders [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] (10-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) and [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) will meet for the vacant women’s bantamweight title.

The fourth episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:

Champ Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis keep their skills sharp. Mike Malott checks in for a massive opportunity. Athletes including Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva open up at media day.

Also watch:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

Raquel Pennington amused by Mayra Bueno Silva ahead of UFC 297: ‘I love the world she’s living in her own mind’

Raquel Pennington is focused on her second title opportunity and has no interest in engaging in trash talk with Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297.

TORONTO – [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] is not taking [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag]’s chatter too seriously ahead of their championship fight.

The two women’s bantamweight contenders meet in the co-main event of UFC 297 this Saturday as they’re set to battle for the vacant title at 135 pounds. Ahead of the pay-per-view event, Bueno Silva (10-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) has been saying that she should’ve been fighting Julianna Peña and not Pennington (15-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and that fans don’t care about the “Rocky” matchup, among other things.

Although shots have been fired her way, Pennington is in no way going to get invested in her opponent’s comments.

“She’s a character,” Pennington said at UFC 297 media day on Wednesday. “All the things that she’s been saying are really entertaining me. What she just said, it’s contradicting to what I heard she’s saying. At the end of the day, she’s talking all the crap and saying all the things, and sure, maybe the fans want to see her fight Julianna because they yap a lot. They talk. Everyone wants to see that. They love the entertaining portion. That’s just not who I am, and I think about the kids and the younger generation looking up to me. It’s not about talking crap about each other. A fight is a fight. Our fists will do the talking, so I don’t feel the need to waste the extra energy.

“I don’t know who she thinks she is right now. I’ve been in this sport for a very long time, and I’ve been top 10 for the majority of my career in the UFC. For her to sit here, they were trying to find another opponent because Julianna is injured. It was supposed to be me and Julianna. So for her to think that it was supposed to be her and Julianna, I love the world she’s living in her own mind, but she’s a little confused.”

This title bout with Bueno Silva is the second time Pennington will fight for the UFC women’s bantamweight title. Last time she was in this position, she was badly beaten by Amanda Nunes in 2018.

Pennington is determined to redeem herself and believes she’s in a much better position to become champion this time out.

“I honestly can’t tell you where my mental state was back in 2018,” Pennington said. “It was literally all over the board. I was coming off a long layoff, and I wanted to feel myself again. I have frustration after frustration, setback after setback. I was developing medical issues. It was one thing after another.

“As a fighter, it was like, ‘Man, I just want to be me.’ As a person being a warrior, I just wanted to be me. In my mind, I was going to be a world champion. In my heart, I didn’t feel half of anything. I didn’t feel it in my entire being. Everything was so unaligned, but it was going to happen somehow. Now the biggest difference is that I feel it in every part of me. My mind is right. My heart is right. My spirit is right. My motivation is on a different level. I just feel 100 percent different.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.