2/17
https://www.si.com/fannation/mma/ufc/ufc-298-news-tai-tuivasa-returns-heavyweight-clash
UFC 298 News: Tai Tuivasa Returns for Heavyweight Showdown
Two hard-hitting heavyweights will try to rebound from recent losses at UFC 298.
Set to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, UFC 298 is headlined by a featherweight title fight between champion Alexander Volkanovski and unbeaten challenger Ilia Topuria.
Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo recently revealed that he’ll take on #2-ranked bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili at the event, and now the promotion has announced the card will also feature a heavyweight clash between Tuivasa and Tybura.
Both longtime staples of the UFC heavyweight division, the meeting between #9-ranked Tuivasa and #10-ranked Tybura is an opportunity for each man to spring back from defeat and resume their climb towards a heavyweight title fight.
Tybura began 2023 strong, handing Alexandr Romanov his first ever defeat. “Tybur” carried his success into February, securing a victory over Blagoy Ivanov. However, his winning streak came to an end in July.
The 38-year-old was matched up with current interim heavyweight king Tom Aspinall for a UFC Fight Night main event in London. Aspinall quickly silenced any concerns about his injury-related layoff when he stopped Tybura in just over a minute.
Tuivasa had an incredible run of five knockout victories starting in 2020 with his win against Stefan Struve. However, since then, he has experienced a three-fight losing streak - all by knockout.
“Bam Bam” only fought top ranked heavyweight contenders during this skid, most recently tapping to an Ezekiel choke against Alexander Volkov at UFC 293.
The newly booked heavyweight matchup is a strong addition to UFC 298, and will likely secure a spot on the main card underneath Volkanovski’s featherweight title defense against Topuria.
A former Japanese wrestling standout and undefeated MMA fighter, Nakamura (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) returns vs. Brady Hiestand (7-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at UFC 298, which takes place Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Both fighters recently confirmed the booking on social media after Hiestand’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, first posted the news.
The line-up for UFC 298 looks like this:
- Current champion Alexander Volkanovski (26-3 MMA) will take on the undefeated Ilia Topuria (14-0 MMA) in the main event featherweight title fight.
‘The Great’ last fought and lost to Islam Makhachev (25-1 MMA) via KO in October of last year at UFC 294.
‘El Matador’ is coming into the cage with a recent unanimous decision win over Josh Emmett (18-4 MMA) last June.
- The co-main event of UFC 298 will feature Paulo Costa (14-2 MMA) taking on former UFC champion Robert Whittaker (25-7 MMA) at middleweight.
‘Borrachinha’ has not fought since August of 2022 when he defeated Luke Rockhold (16-6 MMA) at UFC 278.
‘The Reaper’ last fought and was defeated by Dricus Du Plessis (20-2 MMA) this past July at UFC 290.
- Geoff Neal (15-5 MMA) will go up against the undefeated Ian Garry (13-0 MMA) at welterweight.
‘Handz of Steel’ is coming off a loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0 MMA) in March of 2023 at UFC 285.
‘The Future’ has won all six of his fights since joining the UFC, the latest victory coming against Neil Magny (28-11 MMA) last August at UFC 292.
- A bantamweight bout will take place between Merab Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA) and Henry Cejudo (16-3 MMA).
‘The Machine’ is brandishing 9 consecutive wins in the Octagon, his latest coming against Petr Yan (16-5 MMA) in March of 2023.
‘Triple C’ last fought and was defeated by Aljamain Sterling (23-4 MMA) last May at UFC 288.
- Also at middleweight will be a bout between Anthony Hernandez (11-2 MMA) and Ikram Aliskerov (15-1 MMA).
‘Fluffy’ is on a 4-fight winning streak, his last TKO victory coming against Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4 MMA) in May of last year.
Aliskerov last fought and defeated Warlley Alves (14-7 MMA) this past October at UFC 294.
https://www.mmanews.com/news/tatiana-suarez-withdraws-jessica-andrade-fight-ufc-298
Tatiana Suarez Withdraws From Amanda Lemos Fight At UFC 298, Replacement Revealed
Suarez suffered an unspecified injury.
4 decent fights in this card in my opinion