- Dvalishvili defeats Cejudo in UFC 298, securing his ninth UFC win.
- Hernandez continues winning streak with a submission victory over Kopylov.
- Exciting preliminary matches showcase Barlow, Mingyang, Nakamura, de Lima, and Lemos’ impressive performances.
Merab Dvalishvili beat Henry Cejudo at UFC 298. Cejudo, a former champion, started strong but couldn’t keep up with Dvalishvili in rounds two and three. It was a unanimous decision win for Dvalishvili, with all judges scoring it 29-28 in his favor. This was Dvalishvili’s ninth win in the UFC.
In another match on the main card, Anthony Hernandez won his fifth consecutive fight. He defeated Roman Kopylov via a rear naked choke in the second round.
Dvalishvili had a slow start in the fight against Cejudo but picked up pace later on. Cejudo landed the first significant punch, but Dvalishvili responded with a takedown. Although Cejudo got back up quickly, Dvalishvili landed some good strikes.
In the second round, Dvalishvili found success with his striking while Cejudo seemed to slow down. Dvalishvili attempted a guillotine choke, but Cejudo survived.
The final round saw Dvalishvili dominating with knees and a powerful slam. Cejudo tried for a late takedown but couldn’t succeed.
Cejudo had mentioned before the fight that he might consider retiring if he couldn’t win. Now, with his second consecutive loss, his future in the sport is uncertain.
In the first fight of the main card, Hernandez showed his dominance with a rear naked choke victory over Kopylov in the second round. Hernandez had been relentless throughout the fight, attempting numerous takedowns and landing significant strikes.
Moving to the prelims, welterweight Danny Barlow secured a third-round victory over Josh Quinlan with a flurry of punches. Zhang Mingyang stunned Brendson Ribeiro with a first-round knockout in the light heavyweight division.
Rinya Nakamura won a bantamweight bout against Carlos Vera via unanimous decision. Marcos Rogerio de Lima defeated Junior Tafa with a second-round stoppage due to calf kicks. Amanda Lemos emerged victorious over Mackenzie Dern in a three-round battle in the women’s strawweight division.
So, Dvalishvili and Hernandez were the standout performers of UFC 298, both securing impressive victories on the main card.
