Cejudo to test Sterling’s mettle

Henry Cejudo will return to the Octagon and test the mettle of bantamweight world champion Aljamain Sterling when the two meet in the main event of UFC 288, set for the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey, on the morning of Sunday 7 May 2023.

Cejudo (16-2), a former flyweight and bantamweight UFC world champion, retired from MMA in May 2020 after he successfully defended the 135 lb (61 kg) title with a second-round TKO of Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.

At the time, ‘The Messenger’s’ retirement was seen as a contract negotiation tactic and three years after his last professional MMA match, the 36-year-old is back to try and reclaim the title he initially won by overcoming Marlon Moraes in June 2019.

Sterling (22-3) is looking for a third successful defence of his bantamweight championship, having seen off a rematch with Petr Yan via split decision (the man he controversially won the belt off via disqualification) in April 2022 and beaten T.J. Dillashaw by TKO in October 2022.

Cejudo, in a zoom interview alongside Sterling and facilitated by UFC legend and commentator Daniel Cormier, claimed ‘Funk Master’ had it easy in winning and retaining the bantamweight championship.

“He won the belt via Academy Award [referring to the DQ win over Yan in 2021]. He won the second fight via – I don’t know what it was, judges’ guilt. And then he couldn’t beat a guy that I beat in 13 seconds on EPO, and it took him fricken’ almost two rounds to get rid of him with one arm,” said Cejudo.

“DC, I’m a different cat. I beat Demetrious Johnson, I beat the greatest bantamweight of all time in Dominick Cruz. I beat a dude on EPO, I got rid of Marlon Moraes who knocked him the hell out.”

In response, Sterling has promised to silence Cejudo’s trash talk: “Now he’s in the actual bracket, he’s no longer on the sidelines. Now he’s gonna have to answer for his words. His mouth is writing a check that his a** will not be able to cash, and I’m gonna make sure I cash that s*** out May 6th, guaranteed.”

The rest of the main card will feature a welterweight showdown between Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad; Jessica Andrade v Yan Xiaonan in a women’s strawweight clash; as well as featherweight fights pitting Movsar Evloev and Kron Gracie against Bryce Mitchell and Charles Jourdain respectively.

UFC 288 – Main card

- Main event: Bantamweight championship: Aljamain Sterling v Henry Cejudo

- Welterweight: Gilbert Burns v Belal Muhammad

- Women’s strawweight: Jessica Andrade v Yan Xiaonan

- Featherweight: Movsar Evloev v Bryce Mitchell

- Featherweight: Kron Gracie v Charles Jourdain