Anthony Hernandez vs. Ikram Aliskerov Slated for UFC 298

A middleweight matchup between Anthony Hernandez and Ikram Aliskerov has been added to the UFC 298 card set for Feb.17.

The news was first reported MMAFighting.com and subsequently confirmed by both fighters on social media.

Hernandez (11-2) is currently on a four-fight winning streak, most recently securing a Round 3 technical knockout victory against Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Fight Night 223. The Dana White’s Contender series alum kicked off his promotional journey with a 1-2 record, but has turned things around since his loss to Kevin Holland in May 2020.

Meanwhile, Russia's Aliskerov (15-1) is one of the most intriguing prospects to join the UFC’s middleweight division this year. Aliskerov's only professional loss to date came against top contender Khamzat Chimaev back when the two competed under the Brave Fighting Championship banner in 2019. Since then, the KHK MMA Team product has racked up seven consecutive victories — two in the UFC — with six of them coming inside the distance. The Dagestan native is coming off back-to-back first-round stoppages against Warlley Alves at UFC 298 and Phil Hawes in his promotional debut at UFC 288.

UFC 298 will be headlined by a title fight between reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and undefeated contender Ilia Topuria and will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.