December 10, 2023 1:50 pm ET
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.
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