Ikram Aliskerov Out; Roman Kopylov Meets Anthony Hernandez at UFC 298

Ikram Aliskerov has been forced to withdraw from UFC 298 due to a staph infection.

As a result, Roman Kopylov will step in and face Anthony Hernandez on Feb. 17. The Las Vegas-based promotion initially confirmed Aliskerov’s exit over the weekend, and MMAFighting.com subsequently brought word of the new middleweight booking.

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

— ikram_aliskerov (@ikram_aliskerov) January 21, 2024

UFC 298 takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and is headlined by a featherweight championship clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria. Hernandez vs. Kopylov is expected to take place on the evening’s main card.

Kopylov has been victorious in his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 32-year-old Russian scored a second-round knockout of Josh Fremd at UFC Fight Night 227. He has also earned KO/TKO wins over Claudio Ribeiro Punahele Soriano and Alessio Di Chirico during his current streak.

A competitor on Season 2 of Dana White's Contender Series, Hernandez has also won his last four UFC bouts. In his lone appearance of 2023, “Fluffy” defeated Edmen Shahbazyan via third-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 223 last May.