Anthony Hernandez will remain on the UFC 298 fight card even though his previously scheduled opponent was forced to pull out. Earlier, “Fluffy” was scheduled to face Ikram Aliskarov at the upcoming pay-per-view, but now he will face Roman Kopylov after Aliskarov withdrew from the fight. Hernandez and Kopylov will face each other on February 17, 2024, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Notably, the two fighters were set to compete at the Noche UFC last September, but “Fluffy” was forced to withdraw as he suffered a tear in an unspecified ligament.
Both fighters are on a four-fight winning streak
Hernandez is on a stunning four-fight win streak with wins against the likes of Edmen Shahbazyan, Marc-Andre Barriault and Rodolfo Vieira. Meanwhile, Kopylov is also on a four-fight winning streak, with all four wins coming via knockout. Both fighters are powerful finishers and win most of their fights through knockouts or submission.
Aliskarov revealed the reason for his withdrawal
Ikram Aliskarov was scheduled to face the American fighter Hernandez on the main card at UFC 298. He confirmed his withdrawal and revealed the reason on X, and wrote, “Unfortunately because of staph infection I had to cancel my fight. It was a great chance to jump to the top 15 and fight in this crazy fight card…See you guys after Ramadan.”
Apart from this, he also uploaded a photo of his infection on Instagram. The Russian mentioned in the caption that he decided to withdraw because the infection had been bothering him for four weeks. He has an amazing 15-1 record, with his only loss coming against Khamzat Chimaev under the Brave CF promotional banner.
Also Read: Conor McGregor takes a dig at Chandler’s Physique on X
UFC 298 will be headlined by the featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria. Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker will face off in the co-main event, with Geoff Neal set to face Ian Machado Garry in a grudge match and Henry Cejudo taking on Merab Dvalishvili in a crucial bantamweight bout.
