Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo just put on a great fight at UFC 288 main event. While it is not going to be in contention for one of the fights of the year, the bantamweight scrap was an entertaining bout nonetheless. Aljamain prevailed in the end via a split decision and later went on to call out Sean O’Malley. The two nearly started a brawl in the Octagon after the bout.
In the main card, Yan Xiaonan also secured a massive win for herself. She knocked out the former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade in the first round itself. In the co-main event, Gilbert Burns suffered a nasty shoulder injury against Belal Muhammad. According to UFC President Dana White, Burns suffered a tear on his left shoulder which limited his mobility. Durinho also seemingly suffered a concussion in the fight.
UFC 288 results
UFC 288 main card:
● Aljamain Sterling vs Henry Cejudo: Aljamain Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo via a split decision.
● Belal Muhammad vs Gilbert Burns: Belal Muhammad defeated Gilbert Burns via a unanimous decision.
● Jessica Andrade vs Yan Xiaonan: Yan Xiaonan defeated Jessica Andrade via Knockout.
● Movsar Evloev vs Diego Lopes: Movsar Evloev defeated Diego Lopes via a unanimous decision.
● Kron Gracie vs Charles Jourdain: Charles Jourdain defeated Kron Gracie via a unanimous decision.
UFC 288 preliminary card
● Drew Dober vs Matt Frevola: Matt Frevola defeated Drew Dober via knockout.
● Kennedy Nzechukwu vs Devin Clark: Kennedy Nzechukwu defeated Devin Clark via submission.
● Khaos Williams vs Rolando Bedoya: Khaos Williams defeated Rolando Bedoya via a split decision.
● Marina Rodriguez vs Virna Jandiroba: Virna Jandiroba defeated Marina Rodriguez via a unanimous decision.
UFC 288 early preliminary card
● Braxton Smith vs Parker Porter: Parker Porter defeated Braxton Smith via Knockout.
● Phil Hawes vs Ikram Aliskerov: Ikram Aliskerov defeated Phil Hawes via knockout.
● Joseph Holmes vs Claudio Ribeiro: Claudio Ribeiro defeated Joseph Holmes via knockout.
UFC 288: Post-fight bonuses, attendance, and gate revenue
In the press conference after UFC 288, UFC President Dana White revealed that the event created history in the Prudential Center arena in Newark, New Jersey. According to him, 17,559 people attended the event and it was a sellout. In terms of gate revenue, the event generated $5.12 million, which was a record for the arena. But the figure is not as high as UFC 285, which generated $12.15 million. UFC 287 generated $11.9 million, while UFC 286 generated a gate revenue of $8.58 million.
A back and forth battle from beginning to end 🤜🤛@MovsarUFC & @DiegoLopesMMA take home FOTN💰 pic.twitter.com/MtUxQUh0Vz
— UFC (@ufc) May 7, 2023
As for the post-fight bonuses, Movsar Evloev vs Diego Lopes was awarded “Fight of the Night.” As for “Performance of the Night” bonuses, Yan Xiaonan and Matt Frevola secured the bonuses for their respective performances. All four of them received $50,000 each. Did you enjoy UFC 288? Let us know in the comments down below.
