Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo has got a date and opponent for his next bout, and it will be against a close friend of his most recent foe, Aljamain Sterling.
After three years away from the sport, Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo returned to the fabled Octagon in May. Unfortunately for him, his six-fight win streak ended in a hotly contested bantamweight title fight loss to former champion Aljamain Sterling, via split decision.
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Since the third defeat of his impressive career, there has been a lot of speculation on who he could face in his next fight. Well, the opponent, the date, and the place were revealed on Sunday.
ESPN MMA insider Marc Raimondi was one of the first to report that Cejudo will be back in action on Feb. 17 at UFC 298. On that night in Anaheim, CA he will be taking on top-ranked star Merab Dvalishvili. While no contracts have been signed, sources claim the matchup has been verbally agreed to.
Henry Cejudo record: 16-3 (8 KOs)
With Sterling expected to change divisions and move up to featherweight at some point in 2024, Cejudo vs. Dvalishvili will likely decide the next in line for the winner of the title bout between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera, which takes place the following month at UFC 299.
“The Machine” is currently on a nine-fight win streak that includes victories over former 135-pound champion Petr Yan, and one-time featherweight king Jose Aldo. He likely could have been in a title bout this year, however, he passed on pushing for a championship fight due to his years-long friendship with Sterling.
Cejudo vs. Dvalishvili would serve as the co-main of a pay-per-view card headlined by a featherweight title bout pitting champion Alexander Volkanovski against Ilia Topuria.
