PHOTO: Ikram Aliskerov gives reason for UFC 298 pull-out, shares timeline for return

Ikram Aliskerov is no longer fighting at UFC 298.

The Russian was supposed to fight No.13-ranked middleweight Anthony Hernandez on the card set to go down on Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

It was announced during the live broadcast of UFC 297 that Aliskerov would not be participating at the event and the opponent for Hernandez was 'TBD'. Shortly afterward, the fighter himself confirmed the news and disclosed the reason behind his withdrawal. He also provided a timeline for his potential return.

​

"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."

He also shared a picture of the staph infection he was suffering from on Instagram:

in the caption, Aliskerov wrote that he decided to pull out after suffering from the infection for 4 weeks.

Before Aliskerov's confirmation, the news triggered confusion on MMA X as fans were left wondering why the Dagestani was no longer competing on the card.

Aliskerov is currently 15-1 in MMA, his sole loss coming against Khamzat Chimaev in Brave FC. He is on a two-fight winning streak in the UFC after a debut KO win over Phil Hawes at UFC 288 followed by a second knockout against Warlley Alves at UFC 294.

Hernandez, meanwhile, has not lost since his 2020 fight against Kevin Holland. He has amassed a four-fight win streak, with victories over Rodolfo Vieira, Josh Fremd, Marc-Andre Barriault, and Edmen Shahbazyan.

The UFC 298 card will be headlined by a featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria. Elsewhere, Geoff Neal will face Ian Machado Garry at welterweight, Henry Cejudo will return against Merab Dvalishvili at bantamweight, and Mackenzie Dern will step in on short notice against Amanda Lemos at women's strawweight.

​