Henry Cejudo to Fight Bantamweight Boogeyman at UFC 298
Henry Cejudo will take on Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 on February 17, 2024. The news was first reported by ESPN and confirmed by both parties on December 10:
The fight will take place in Anaheim, California, underneath the featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria.
Both Cejudo and Dvalishvili are returning to the octagon after lengthy breaks. "Triple C" last competed in May 2023, while Dvalishvili's last fight was in March of the same year.
The fight provides an interesting style matchup as Cejudo pairs Olympic level wrestling with his karate-style striking, whilst Dvalishvili uses his unparalleled cardio to push the pace with endless takedowns.
#2 ranked Dvalishvili last fought former bantamweight champion Petr Yan, winning a cozy 50-45 unanimous decision and landing 11 of 49 attempted takedowns.
#3 ranked Cejudo's last bout was a title shot against former bantamweight king Aljamain Sterling. In his losing effort, Cejudo managed to win on one judge's scorecard.
This bantamweight clash will likely be a title eliminator to see who will face the winner of Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera at UFC 299 in March.
As of now (Dec 10), UFC 298 has five confirmed bouts:
- Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro - LHW
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Justin Tafa HW
- Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita - WW
- Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili - BW
- Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria - FW title fight
Stick with MMA Knockout for more daily coverage of the UFC and MMA