Henry Cejudo to Fight Bantamweight Boogeyman at UFC 298

No easy fights for Henry Cejudo.

Mathew Riddle | Dec 10, 2023

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:

Henry Cejudo and Merab Dvalishvili will throw down in Anaheim at UFC 298, sources confirmed with @marcraimondi.

Sources said nothing has been signed, nor have bout agreements been received. But the fight is verbally agreed to by both sides. pic.twitter.com/XjQBVo1Dmo
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 10, 2023

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.

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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.

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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

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Published Dec 10, 2023

MATHEW RIDDLE

Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist, graphic designer, and SEO expert with over five years of experience in digital marketing and a dedicated four-year track record in MMA journalism. He joined MMAKO in 2023. Mathew's insights have been featured on The Fight Fanatic, Heavy on UFC, Fansided, and Sportskeeda. Reach him at mr@thefightfanatic.com.