A welterweight matchup has been added to the first
Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view event of 2024,
which is set to go down at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Jan.
20.
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Sam
Patterson (10-2) will face Canada’s Yohan
Lainesse (9-2) in what will mark the Englishman’s first
professional fight in the welterweight division at UFC 297. The
matchup was first reported by Eurosport Nederland’s Marcel Dorff on
Nov. 3 but was just recently confirmed by the Las Vegas-based
promotion.
Patterson, a
Brave Combat Federation alum, made his Octagon debut at UFC 286
on the heels of a six-fight win streak, including a Round 2
submission victory against Vinicius
Sacchelli Cenci in
Dana White’s Contender Series.
Unfortunately for Patterson, his promotional debut didn’t go as
planned as the Team Crossface product suffered a brutal Round 1
knockout loss at the hands of Israeli fighter Yanal
Ashmoz. Meanwhile, Lainesse is 2-2 in his last four. The
Canadian is coming off a Round 1 submission loss to Mike Malott
in February.
UFC 297 will be headlined by Sean
Strickland’s first attempted defense of his middleweight title
against Dricus Du
Plessis.