In UFC 288 Embedded episode 3, champ Aljamain Sterling does media in NYC. Gilbert Burns packs. Henry Cejudo checks in for fight week. Belal Muhammad makes his way to the East Coast. And AlJo rounds it out with a snowball fight.
Aljamain Sterling is the current UFC bantamweight champion, but a win over former two-division titleholder Henry Cejudo would cement his legacy as one of the promotion’s greatest champions of all time.
Cejudo, on the other hand, is returning from a nearly three-year retirement to try and do what only Georges St-Pierre has done. That being, retiring with the belt and then returning to win another championship.
Gilbert Burns is making a quick return to the Octagon after dominating Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287 just a month ago. He squares off with fellow welterweight contender Belal Muhammad. The winner should have a title shot locked up for his next bout, likely having to first wait for Colby Covington to get another crack at the belt.
The UFC 288 fight card also features a pivotal strawweight bout between Jessica Andrade and Yan Xiaonan.
UFC 288: When, Where, What!
UFC 288 takes place on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. It is headlined by a bantamweight championship bout between current champ Aljamain Sterling and former two-division titleholder Henry Cejudo. A short-notice welterweight war between Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns takes the UFC 288 co-main event slot.
UFC 288 Embedded, Episode 3
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UFC 288: Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo
Saturday, May 6, 2023
Prudential Center
Newark, New Jersey
UFC 288 Main Card
- Main Event – Bantamweight Championship: Aljamain Sterling (c) vs. Henry Cejudo
- Welterweight: Belal Muhammad vs. Gilbert Burns
- Women’s Strawweight: Jéssica Andrade vs. Yan Xiaonan
- Featherweight: Movsar Evloev vs. Diego Lopes —
Bryce MitchellOUT - Featherweight: Kron Gracie vs. Charles Jourdain
UFC 288 Preliminary Card
- Lightweight: Drew Dober vs. Matt Frevola
- Light Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Devin Clark
- Welterweight: Khaos Williams vs. Rolando Bedoya
- Women’s Strawweight: Marina Rodriguez vs. Virna Jandiroba
UFC 288 Early Prelims Card
- Heavyweight: Braxton Smith vs. Parker Porter
- Middleweight: Phil Hawes vs. Ikram Aliskerov
- Flyweight: Rafael Estevam vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
- Middleweight: Joseph Holmes vs. Claudio Ribiero
- Bantamweight: Daniel Santos vs. Johnny Muñoz Jr.
UFC 288 Embedded: Cejudo will be a nice notch in the belt