Bantamweight action has been lined up for February’s UFC 298, as TUF 29 finalist Brady Hiestand looks for his third consecutive win against Japanese standout Rinya Nakamura.
Hiestand (7-2) versus Nakamura (8-0) was recently announced by Iridium Sports Agency, who manage Brady Hiestand. UFC 298 takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA on February 17, 2024.
Rinya Nakamura confirmed the pairing on his Instagram Story shortly after news to the booking was first announced.
After losing in The Ultimate Fighter 29 finale against Ricky Turcios, Hiestand has won his next two fights, claiming a decision over Fernie Garcia and a TKO victory against Danaa Batgerel.
Nakamura, who won the inaugural Road to UFC tournament with a 33-second knockout of Toshiomi Kazama this past February, is also coming off a decision win over Garica. The Japanese standout, 28, captured a world championship in wrestling in 2017 in the under 23 championships.
UFC 298 is due to be headlined by a featherweight title fight, as another unbeaten fighter, Ilia Topuria, looks to dethrone dominant champ Alexander Volkanovski. The following match-ups have been reported for the February card:
- Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Ilia Topuria — for the UFC featherweight championship
- Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo
- Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura
- Tatiana Suarez vs. Amanda Lemos
- Anthony Hernandez vs. Ikram Aliskerov
- Marcos Rogério de Lima vs. Justin Tafa
- Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
- Yusaku Kinoshita vs. Danny Barlow
- Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick
- Rinya Nakamura vs. Brady Hiestand
- Valentine Woodburn vs. Oban Elliott
