With TJ Dillashaw now out of the picture due to his relinquishing of the title following an “adverse finding” in one of his drug tests ahead of UFC Brooklyn, it’s time for a new champion to be crowned.
It was practically a foregone conclusion that the next bantamweight title fight would at the very least feature the undeniable top contender, former World Series of Fighting king, “Magic” Marlon Moraes (22-5-1). It was just a matter of who against.
We now know as the UFC announced on Wednesday that the headliner for UFC 238 in Chicago, Illinois on June 8 will indeed be Moraes vying for the vacant crown against the flyweight champion, Henry Cejudo (14-2).
Both men are currently riding stunningly impressive winning streaks that demand respect for each competitor.
For the current 125-pound champ, Cejudo, his streak began following a very close split decision loss to Joseph Benavidez in December 2016. Two dominant wins over Wilson Reis and Sergio Pettis later and Cejudo had earned his second career UFC title shot.
Challenging the reigning king, Demetrious Johnson once again, Cejudo would make the most of his opportunity in the rematch and come out with the split decision win to become the new flyweight champion. This directly before dispatching of the aforementioned former champion, Dillashaw in just around 30 seconds.
Moraes’ current four-fight streak began following his lone loss in his last 18 fights to Raphael Assuncao whom he would avenge the loss to in February when he scored a first-round submission win. Thus making it three straight highlight reel wins for the Brazilian.
The fight makes it UFC 238’s second and likely final title fight. The current event fight line-up can be seen below.
- Bantamweight – 135lbs: (C) – (Fly C)Henry Cejudo vs Marlon Moraes
- Flyweight – 125lbs: (C)Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Eye
- Strawweight – 115lbs: Tatiana Suarez vs. Nina Ansaroff
- Flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian vs. Joanne Calderwood
- Heavyweight – 207-265lbs: Tai Tuivasa vs. Blagoy Ivanov
- Strawweight: Felice Herrig vs Yan Xiaonan
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/27/2019