Aljamain Sterling is still in pursuit of his defining win as UFC bantamweight championship. Henry Cejudo, the Olympic gold medalist and former simultaneous two-division UFC champion, intends to erase Sterling’s legacy while adding to his own. Sterling and Cejudo meet in the main event of UFC 288 on Saturday night in Newark, New Jersey.
Sterling is the deserving champion, but his bantamweight title run has recently been overshadowed by the outcome of the fights. He won the title due to disqualification and eked out a split decision in his rematch with Petr Yan. Sterling’s most recent win over TJ Dillashaw played second fiddle to the wrecked shoulder Dillashaw secretly entered the fight with.
Cejudo returns from a three-year retirement, leap-frogging the division with a style that could give Sterling serious problems. Sterling has relied heavily on wrestling and back control to cement himself as the bantamweight king. Sterling will face healthy opposition in that department against the Olympic gold medalist.
One month later, the promotion returns to Vancouver, Canada for the first time since September 2019 with UFC 289 headlined by Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena 3. Pena shocked the world in December 2021, submitting Nunes to capture the women’s bantamweight championship. Nunes battered Pena over five rounds in their summer 2022 rematch to recapture the title.
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