Sam Patterson vs. Yohan Lianesse Added to UFC 297 Lineup

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.

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.