While we wait for the main card to begin, let’s look back at some other big news from the MMA world this week, starting with this update from Jon Jones:

We didn’t just talk to Saint-Denis about Dustin Poirier and UFC 299...

We also spoke about the 28-year-old’s time in a counter-terrorism unit of the French special forces...

And much more!

Here’s the full interview:

This week, Indy Sport conducted an exclusive interview with UFC lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis.

It was revealed last week that the Frenchman will be fighting ex-interim champion Dustin Poirier at UFC 299 in March.

We spoke to Saint-Denis about that fight:

Tonight’s main event won’t technically be the first time that Strickland and Du Plessis have fought...

The pair brawled at ringside in December, during UFC 296, and Strickland has since admitted to biting his challenger...

Strickland had some pretty choice words for women’s MMA and the LGBTQ community this week.

Here’s what the controversial American had to say:

The odds for tonight’s main event...

Strickland – 4/6

Du Plessis – 5/4

Via Bet365.

Here’s tonight’s card in full (subject to any very late changes!):

Raquel Pennington vs Mayra Bueno Silva (vacant women’s bantamweight title)

Neil Magny vs Mike Malott (welterweight)

Chris Curtis vs Marc-Andre Barriault (middleweight)

Arnold Allen vs Movsar Evloev (featherweight)

Brad Katona vs Garrett Armfield (bantamweight)

Charles Jourdain vs Sean Woodson (featherweight)

Serhiy Sidey vs Ramon Taveras* (bantamweight) *Taveras missed weight at 139.7lbs

Gillian Robertson vs Polyana Viana (women’s strawweight)

Early prelims

Yohan Lainesse vs Sam Patterson (welterweight)

Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Priscila Cachoeira (women’s bantamweight)

Jimmy Flick def. Malcolm Gordon via second-round submission (head-arm triangle, 1:17)

UFC 297 is taking place at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada. The early prelims just got going at 11.30pm GMT (4.30pm PT, 6.30pm CT, 7.30pm ET), with the regular prelims due to follow at 1am GMT on Sunday 21 January (6pm PT, 8pm CT, 9pm ET on Saturday).

The main card will then begin at 3am GMT on Sunday (8pm PT, 10pm CT, 11pm ET on Saturday), and that’s when our fight updates will start!

More info here:

UFC 297 is airing live on TNT Sports in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass.

More info here:

In the co-main event, Raquel Pennington will fight Mayra Bueno Silva to crown a new women’s bantamweight champion, seven months after the icon Amanda Nunes retired and relinquished the belt.