A new bantamweight champion will be crowned at UFC 238 as flyweight king Henry Cejudo moves up to 135 pounds to face Marlon Moraes on June 8 in Chicago.
UFC officials announced the fight on Wednesday.
Cejudo has been lobbying for a shot at the bantamweight title ever since he knocked out former champion T.J. Dillashaw in just 32 seconds back in January.
In the aftermath of that fight, Dillashaw had a drug test returned with ‘adverse’ findings that earned him a one year suspension from the New York State Athletic Commission and he later relinquished his bantamweight title.
As a result, the UFC will now look to crown a new champion in June.
Moraes gets his first shot at UFC gold after rattling off four straight wins including three devastating finishes over Raphael Assuncao, Aljamain Sterling and Jimmie Rivera.
Moraes was already considered the No. 1 contender at bantamweight but now he’ll face Cejudo instead of Dillashaw as he seeks to become champion.
Cejudo vs. Moraes will headline the card from Chicago with the co-main event featuring strawweight champion Valentina Shevchenko defending her title against Jessica Eye.
