Henry Cejudo (image via UFC/Twitter)

By FCF Staff

After weeks of speculation as to whether Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo will fight next, the latter has announced that he is going to battle the surging bantamweight next.

Following Cejudo’s (16-3) narrow loss to now former bantamweight champ, Aljamain Sterling in May, he expressed an interest in facing Dvalishvili (16-4) next. The Georgian fighter has won nine straight and is ranked #2 in the UFC’s bantamweight division.

More recently, Cejudo announced via his YouTube channel that he is signed to fight Dvalishvili on February 17th at UFC 298. MMA Junkie has also confirmed with a source that the bout is set.

Cejudo’s aforementioned fight with Sterling marked the first time he had competed since May, 2020. Following his stoppage win over Dominick Cruz that month, the former bantamweight and flyweight champ announced he was retiring.

Currently, Cejudo is ranked #3 in the UFC’s bantamweight ranks.

UFC 298 will take place in Anaheim and will feature featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski taking on challenger, Ilia Topuria.