Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo will fight in a potential bantamweight title elimnator at UFC 298 in Anaheim, California on February 17th.
Dvalishvili has been unlucky not to already have a title shot given that he’s currently on a nine-fight winning streak in the division.
Along the way the 32-year-old has beaten the likes of Jose Aldo, Marlon Moraes and John Dodson, but with a style that relies on his dominant wrestling with not much in the way of highlight-reel finishes and the added complication that for a long time his friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling was champion, he’s still yet to fight for the belt.
On the other hand, former two-division champ Henry Cejudo walked straight back into a title shot at 135lbs back in May, some three years after he vacated his titles and retired from the sport. However, it didn’t prove to be a triumphant return for the former Olympic wrestling gold medalist as he’d lose by split-decision to Sterling.
All of which leaves Dvalishvili ranked No.2 in the division and Cejudo one place below him at No.3, meaning that the winner has a strong chance to establish themselves as the next title contender against whoever emerges victorious from the upcoming Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera title fight at UFC 299 a month later.
