A potential title eliminator in the bantamweight division is booked for UFC 298 with former two-division champion Henry Cejudo set to take on streaking contender Merab Dvalishvili.
Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) announced Sunday on his YouTube channel that he will take on Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) on the Feb. 17 card, which takes place at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.
A person with knowledge of the situation verified the booking to MMA Junkie, but requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
Cejudo, No. 8 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings, is coming off a title fight loss to then-champ Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 in what was his return to competition from a three-year layoff.
The former 135-pound and 125-pound titleholder was hoping for a quick turnaround from the loss and was connected to a matchup with Marlon Vera at UFC 292 in August, but the 36-year-old suffered a shoulder injury. Now healthy, Cejudo will look to push back into another title opportunity.
He will have a stiff task in the form of No. 2-ranked Dvalishvili, 32, who is riding a nine-fight winning streak and has been pushing hard for his first UFC title shot. “The Machine” hasn’t suffered a defeat since April 2018, and his current run of success includes victories over former champs Petr Yan and Jose Aldo.
The latest UFC 298 lineup now includes:
- Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria – for featherweight title
- Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili
- Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita
- Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
- Marcos Rogerio vs. Justin Tafa
- Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
