UFC 288 is knocking on the door and fans couldn’t be more excited for the May 6 event. The main event will witness a highly anticipated matchup between bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo. Up until very recently, the co-main event was supposed to be between Charlies Oliveira and Beneil Dariush. However, due to an undisclosed injury, the former Brazilian champ had to pull out.
Luckily for the fans, a bout between Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad has now taken the co-main spot. Aside from this, there are several other UFC athletes on the card that the fans are looking forward to. Fan favorite Bryce Mitchell is also making a return, after contemplating retirement following his last Octagon outing. Former strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade will also grace the Octagon right before the co-main.
We have ourselves a (new) official poster for UFC 288.#UFC288 pic.twitter.com/0Vuda3WQQa
— Asian Persuasion MMA (@APMMA_net) April 19, 2023
UFC 288 will see the former two-division champion attempt to grab what once belonged to him. Cejudo, who last fought in 2020 against Dominick Cruz, announced his retirement after a TKO victory over the former champion. While Henry appears determined to remind everyone about his greatness, it would be interesting to see if ring rust affects his game plan in any way.
Aljamain Sterling vs Henry Cejudo: Stats and record
Henry ‘Triple C‘ Cejudo (16-2) has exchanged several heated words with Aljamain Sterling (22-3) over the last few months. While this has only garnered more eyeballs around the duo’s bout, it has also led to fans raising their expectations for Cejudo to triumph on May 6.
As far as their heights are concerned, ‘Funkmaster’ towers over Cejudo at 1.70 m. Whereas, the 36-year-old stands tall at 1.62 m. In terms of reach as well, Sterling takes has the advantage at 180 cm, while Henry’s reach lies at 162 cm. While Sterling will clearly put these advantages to good use, fans shouldn’t be surprised if Henry still finds a way to counter Aljamain’s game plan and secure a victory.
Aljamain Sterling ran into Henry Cejudo at the fighter hotel ahead of UFC 288 👀 #MMA #UFC288
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) May 1, 2023
Cejudo has only lost two bouts in the UFC. The former two-division champion made his UFC debut in 2014 at bantamweight. However, he would go on to compete at flyweight for the rest of his fights up until 2019. Cejudo not only captured the belts in two divisions, but he also defended each one of them once before announcing his retirement.
Aljamain, on the other hand, has lost 3 bouts in the Las Vegas-based promotion before racking up an 8-fight win streak. The 33-year-old New York native has competed in bantamweight for most of his career, with a catchweight bout against Renan Barao in 2017.
Henry earned an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Expectedly, he is bringing his best weapon of wrestling into this fight. However, Aljamain has only gotten better at the same, as he showcased his improved wrestling skills in his rematch with Petr Yan.
While Sterling will definitely be the favorite, fans can never count Henry out, especially after his last few flawless performances in the cage. Who do you think walks away with the bantamweight gold come Saturday night? Let us know in the comments down below.