Henry Cejudo has withdrawn from his scheduled bout against Merab Dvalishvili, which was set to take place at RAF08 in Philadelphia. The withdrawal was attributed to an injury, though specific details were not disclosed. As a result of Cejudo's pullout, the main event has been changed to Arman Tsarukyan versus Urijah Faber. The event was originally scheduled for tonight. This represents a significant reshuffling of the RAF08 card on short notice.
Henry Cejudo has withdrawn from his bantamweight bout against Merab Dvalishvili at RAF08 in Philadelphia due to an undisclosed injury, forcing a significant last-minute reshuffling of the card. As a result, Arman Tsarukyan versus Urijah Faber has been elevated to the main event slot.
Cejudo, 39, holds a 16-6 record and is currently ranked ninth in the bantamweight division. The American wrestler and former two-division champion fights out of Fight Ready and stands five-foot-four with a 64-inch reach. He lands 3.82 significant strikes per minute at 47 percent accuracy and averages 1.84 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Dvalishvili, ranked first in the bantamweight division and second pound-for-pound, now finds himself without an opponent. The 35-year-old Georgian out of the Serra-Longo Fight Team carries a 21-5 record and is one of the most relentless grapplers in the sport, averaging an exceptional 6.4 takedowns per 15 minutes. He stands five-foot-six with a 68-inch reach and also puts up 4.33 significant strikes per minute.
Urijah Faber steps into the newly restructured main event opposite Tsarukyan. The 47-year-old California native, known as "The California Kid," competes out of Team Alpha Male and holds a 35-11 record. He stands five-foot-six with a 67-inch reach, averages 2.65 significant strikes per minute, and attempts 0.8 submissions per 15 minutes.
Why it matters
- Cejudo's withdrawal leaves the number-one ranked bantamweight Dvalishvili without a high-profile opponent, complicating the division's title picture.
- Faber, at 47, steps into a main event role on short notice, raising the stakes of his performance considerably.
- The late reshuffling alters the competitive weight of RAF08 as a whole, with a card that was built around a top-ten bantamweight clash now headlined by a different matchup entirely.
