Henry Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) has officially announced on his YouTube channel that he is set to face Merab Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in a bantamweight showdown at UFC 298 in Anaheim, California on February 17.
"The cat is officially out of the bag," he said.
"That's right, I'll be fighting Merab Dvalishvili on February 17, UFC 298. I mean, we all saw this coming. This fight's going to decide who's actually going to fight the eventual winner of Chito Vera and Sean O'Malley."
UFC 298 also features several other high-profile matchups, including Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title, Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita, Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro, Marcos Rogerio vs. Justin Tafa and Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick.
"I'm excited, and I'm not sure if we're going to co-headline this fight with Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski, but either way, this fight is absolutely going to be bonkers," said Cejudo.
The former double champ recently made a comeback to the competition after a three-year hiatus. Now, he is eager for redemption following a title fight loss via split decision to then-champ Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288. With Sterling subsequently losing the belt to O'Malley, Cejudo sees an opportunity to once again contend for the title.
In August, Cejudo was originally scheduled to face Chito Vera at UFC 292. However, he had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury.
Dvalishvili's records in UFC
Dvalishvili enters the upcoming clash with a nine-fight winning streak, including eight wins in a row in the bantamweight division. It's the second-longest streak in division history after Sterling's. "The Machine" has been undefeated since April 2018.
Hungry for a title shot, the 32-year-old fighter expressed confidence that a win over Cejudo would strengthen his case for a championship opportunity. Recently, Dvalishvili secured a unanimous decision victory over former champion Petr Yan in March.
"I give him respect, and I give all my opponents respect, especially Henry Cejudo," Dvalishvili told ESPN's Heidi Androl.
"He was the greatest champion, and he was when Aljamain beat him. I'm excited. This is big test for me, and I don't know if I need tests anymore because I have nine-fight win streak, and I beat everyone they put in front of me. I think I deserve to fight title fight. But they give me another test."
If Dvalishvili secures his tenth consecutive victory in the fight against Cejudo, it could be challenging for the promotion to deny him a title opportunity.
"Yes, that's what they offer me. I say yes, and I don't know when we are fighting, what day, but I'm ready," he said.
"I'm training every day, and I'm ready for fighting. is good. It's finally feeling good. It's still not 100%, but I'm training, I'm sparring, I'm punching, wrestling, I'm doing everything, and the hand is good now."
On the other side of the bantamweight division, the UFC has also unveiled that champion Sean O'Malley will be facing Marlon Vera at UFC 299 on March 9 in Miami, Florida.
