Aljamain Sterling Edges Henry Cejudo, Retains Title in UFC 288 Headliner

Aljamain Sterling remains the gold standard in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division.

Sterling (23-3, 15-3 UFC) retained his 135-pound belt with a hard-fought split-decision triumph over former two-division champion Henry Cejudo (16-3, 10-3 UFC) in the UFC 288 main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Saturday night. Judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon both submitted 48-47 tallies in favor of “The Funk Master,” while Michael Bell saw it 48-47 for Cejudo. It was the first bout for the Olympic gold medalist since he retired following a victory against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020.

Sterling utilized his reach advantage, working behind unorthodox movement, stance switches and a toolbox of kicks — with calf kicks being an especially effective weapon. The Serra-Longo Fight Team member set the tone in the opening stanza, when he landed some knees to the body in close quarters and secured a late takedown, working his way to Cejudo’s back before the horn. Cejudo had his moments as well, including a strong push in Round 5 that saw him put Sterling on his heels with heavy punches, pressure and a late takedown. Overall, however, the grappling battle was a virtual stalemate: Sterling landed four takedowns to Cejudo’s three, while “Triple C” logged 5:06 of control time to his opponent’s 4:00.

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Sterling has now won nine straight fights in UFC competition. After the victory, top contender Sean O’Malley entered the cage to face off against Sterling. The two bantamweights exchanged words in the center of the Octagon before Sterling called for a September fight against the fighter known as “Sugar.” Cejudo, meanwhile, revealed in a post-fight interview that he is once again considering retirement.

Muhammad Bests Burns, Secures Title Shot

Belal Muhammad extended his unbeaten streak to 10 with a clear-cut unanimous decision victory against Gilbert Burns in the UFC 288 co-main event. The former Titan FC title holder received scorecards of 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 from the cageside judges. The victory presumably sets Muhammad (23-3, 14-3 UFC) up for a welterweight title shot against the winner of a future clash between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington.

“Remember the Name” imposed his will through stance switches, punching combinations to the head and blistering left kicks to the body. Burns, who was fighting just one month after besting Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287, appeared to be compromised for much of the fight due to a left arm or shoulder injury, and it significantly affected his offensive output. The Brazilian was able to land his right hand on occasion and also enjoyed some success with leg kicks, but they weren’t enough to alter the trajectory of the fight. Muhammad’s takedown defense also held up, as he thwarted all four of his opponent’s takedown attempts in the 25-minute affair.

Yan Shocks Andrade

Xiaonan Yan made her case for a title shot in emphatic fashion, as she stopped ex-strawweight champ Jessica Andrade in the opening stanza of their featured 115-pound bout. The Team Alpha Male export dropped Andrade (24-11, 15-9 UFC) with a counter right hand over the top and then punctuated her victory with a few follow-up strikes on the canvas at the 2:20 mark of Round 1. Andrade, who was making her third appearance of 2023, has dropped back-to-back fights for the second time in her promotional tenure.

Yan (18-3, 8-2 UFC) looked sharp from the outset, as she tagged Andrade with crisp straight punches as the Brazilian waded forward. Undaunted, Andrade continued to stalk her foe, winging wide, powerful hooks in the process. That approach came back to haunt her, however, when the 33-year-old Chinese standout landed the perfectly-timed right hand. Yan had gone the distance in her previous seven UFC triumphs.

Evloev Survives Against Lopes

Movsar Evloev had all he could handle against Diego Lopes, but ultimately the former M-1 Global champion emerged with a hard-fought unanimous decision triumph in a featherweight encounter. All three judges scored the fight in favor of Evloev: 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27. Lopes, who took the fight on less than one week’s notice, sees a modest two-bout winning streak come to an end.

Lopes had plenty of memorable moments in his UFC debut. He tagged Evloev (17-0, 7-0 UFC) with a right hand early in the opening stanza and later threatened with an armbar near the end of the frame. Evloev imposed his will more in Round 2, landing punches to the head at range and ground-and-pound from top position as Lopes appeared to be fading.

The Lobo Gym MMA representative had one final push in him, however. While Evloev kept the pressure on his opponent with pressure, control and ground-and-pound in the final period, he was forced to defend a kimura and a kneebar in the waning moments of the bout. Evloev’s submission defense held up, though the last-ditch leg lock by Lopes elicited a grimace from the Russian before the horn.

Jourdain Spoils Gracie Return

Charles Jourdain made sure Kron Gracie’s first Octagon appearance in nearly four years was one to forget, as he cruised to a clear-cut unanimous decision triumph over the son of Rickson Gracie. All three judges submitted 30-27 tallies in favor of the 27-year-old Canadian, who halted a two-bout skid. Gracie hadn’t competed in the UFC since dropping a decision to Cub Swanson on Oct. 12, 2019.

Jourdain (14-6-1, 5-5-1 UFC) tagged his opponent with crisp punching combinations to the head and body throughout the three-round affair. Gracie, meanwhile, offered little on the feet in a one-dimensional approach, and his most significant moments consisted of pulling Jourdain into his guard. To his credit, Jourdain never gave Gracie (5-2, 1-2 UFC) an opening to secure a submission, and he was consistently successful in returning to his feet or disengaging from the clinch. Despite his lack of success, Gracie never wavered from his game plan. When all was said and done, Jourdain landed more significant strikes (80) than his opponent attempted (57).



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