UFC Bantamweight Champion Sterling Wins Over Cejudo

(CTN News) – In the main event of UFC 288, Aljamain Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo in a split decision, retaining his bantamweight title and possibly sending the former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champion back into retirement.

Despite the closely contested fight on Saturday, Sterling took the cards 48-47, 47-48, 48-47.

As the betting favorite entering the fight, Cejudo had returned to the octagon after a three-year absence.

“I wasn’t sure how the decision was going to turn out,” Sterling said. I wish I could have done a little better, but Henry’s a monster, he’s a legend. I can’t run through him like I did everybody else.”

His record now stands at 23-3, while Cejudo’s is 16-2.

It was Sterling, 33, who landed more total strikes than Cejudo, 174-110, including 110-63 in signature strikes.

A disqualification resulted in Sterling winning the 135-pound title despite losing handily to Petr Yan in 2021 due to an illegal strike. After winning a rematch UFC via split decision a year later, he cemented his title.

After Sterling won Saturday, his challenger Sean O’Malley stripped off his jacket, stepped inside the cage, and the two fought nose-to-nose for several minutes before being separated.

It is possible that they will get their championship match later this summer. A fight between Sterling-O’Malley and St. Louis in August instead of a late night fight in New Jersey was a priority for UFC President Dana White.

Cejudo, 36, is the only person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a UFC title. Among the four UFC fighters to simultaneously hold belts in two divisions, he once held the bantamweight and flyweight titles. However, he abruptly retired in 2020, vacating both titles.

He said he was unsure of what he wanted to do in the future and he would return home to his wife, who is expecting their second child, and think about the future of his fight career. The 17,559 fans who paid to watch Cejudo try to turn back the clock cheered him through all five rounds.

“Who knows, this might be the last time in the octagon.” he said.

Sterling, a native of Long Island, New York, successfully defended his bantamweight title for the third time in a row.

After landing enough stiff kicks to Gilbert Burns’ upper body, Belal Muhammad (23-3, 1 NC) won a unanimous decision.

In the third round, Muhammad and Burns exchanged a few kicks, and the crowd threw it back at them after another round with little sustained action. Due to his left shoulder injury, Burns was unable to muster much offense, which explains his methodical approach.

As he was announced the 50-45, 49-46, 49-46 winner, Muhammad told the crowd, “New Jersey, you suck.”

With the win, Muhammad extended his winning streak to five and his unbeaten streak to 10 straight fights – making him a leading contender for a title shot against Leon Edwards.

The fight between Movsar Evloev and Diego Lopes was accepted by Lopes on five-day notice after injury forced Bryce Mitchell to withdraw.

The former UFC strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade was clobbered by Yan Xiaonan with a big right and pounded away at her fallen foe for a TKO victory in the first round at 2:20.

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