The Rookies: UFC 297 ‘Strickland vs. Du Plessis’

Pardon Serhiy Sidey if he seems a little irked. They say familiarity breeds contempt.

The former Battlefield Fight League and BTC Fight Promotions titleholder will make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut opposite Ramon Taveras as part of the UFC 297 undercard this Saturday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. They are already well-acquainted one another, having squared off on Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series in September. Sidey cut down the Bulldog Boxing rep with first-round punches, though the Taveras appeared to be defending himself lucidly when referee Kevin MacDonald called for what many viewed as a premature stoppage.

“I did my job. I did exactly what I was supposed to do,” Sidey said at the post-fight press conference. “If the ref didn’t stop the fight, that guy would have taken more damage. Even if he got up, he wouldn’t be as confident anymore on the feet because he just got dropped hard, so honestly, it could have played out, it could have went farther, but I know I was going to get that finish regardless.”

The controversy did nothing to dampen Sidey’s spirits.

“I visualized this,” he said. “I had a lot of different ways this was going to happen. I knew this was going to happen. This feels like my destiny.”

Due to the questionable nature of the finish, Taveras was offered a second opportunity on DWCS a month later. He needed just 29 seconds to bury Cortavious Romious with punches and nail down his spot on the UFC roster. “The Savage” dropped Romious twice in the middle of violent exchanges, then connected with a devastating left hook that sent him crashing to the canvas in a dazed and confused state. More punches followed, and Taveras’ night’s work was complete.

“I come into every fight the same,” he said. “I come in there confident. I come in there ready. It was a little bit more comfortable knowing the unknown. I came in there and I got it done.”

Sidey enters their rematch on the strength of a six-fight winning streak, his overall record gleaming at 10-1. The 27-year-old Canadian has secured eight of his 10 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. In Taveras, he faces a man who has gone the distance only once as a pro and someone who sounds driven to vindicate himself.

“The redemption is going to be great,” Taveras said. “I get to finish this guy in Canada, and I get to travel out of the country for free. I’m excited to put on a show for everybody. The first fight was going my way until it wasn’t. I know I’ll finish this guy.”

While Sidey and Taveras are the lone rookies assigned to the card, Sam Patterson stands out as the only fighter on the bill with at least one Octagon appearance and no UFC victories. His ill-fated promotional debut on March 18 resulted in a 75-second knockout loss to Yanal Ashmoz at UFC 286 and snapped the Team Crossface rep’s 10-fight unbeaten streak. Patterson meets Yohan Lainesse in a three-round welterweight prelim.