A bantamweight title bout between champion Aljamain Sterling and former two-division titleholder Henry Cejudo headlined UFC 288 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Cejudo held the 135-pound belt when he retired following his win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020. Three years removed from competition, ‘Triple-C’ returned to try and win back the championship that he never lost.
Sterling pressured Cejudo and Cejudo circled on the outside. Cejudo took Sterling down but Serling rolled and got back to his feet. Cejudo clinched and Sterling dropped down and locked for a takedown. They scrambled back to standing but remained in the clinch. Sterling secured a takedown. It was only the second time Cejudo had ever been taking down in his career.
Cejudo worked to stand and Sterling delivered knees to the body. Sterling put Cejudo back on the canvas and took his back with seconds remaining in the round.
Sterling picked up the pace in the second frame and Cejudo began to find his range. Cejudo connected with a head kick but the champion absorbed it. Sterling found Cejudo’s jaw with a left hand. Cejudo answered back with a combination. Cejudo began moving forward and it proved successful. He landed a clean right hand late in the round.
Sterling tried to take Cejudo down, but Cejudo sprawled. Cejudo delivered short punches to the body before letting Sterling back to feet. They clinched and battled for position. Sterling took Cejudo down, but he worked his way back to his feet. Serling connected with a knee and tied Cejudo up along the cage.
Sterling shot for a takedown and Cejudo fended it off. Once separated, they exchanged shots. Cejudo took Sterling down in the closing seconds and that’s how the round ended.
They exchanged leg kicks to start the fourth round. Cejudo pressured Sterling and delivered leg kicks. Cejudo stepped in with a right hand. For the first time in the fight, Cejudo had Sterling fighting while going backward. Cejudo worked hard to get Sterling to the canvas but Sterling ended up taking him.
Cejudo pressed forward in the opening moments of the final frame. He pressured Sterling but walked into a left hand. Cejudo responded with a left hand. He continued to take the fight to the champion. After defending a takedown attempt, Cejudo clinched and delivered two knees to the body. Cejudo caught a kick and drove Sterling across the cage and put him on his back. Sterling quickly got back to his feet and they both delivered punches inside the clinch until the bell sounded.
After fifteen minutes of fighting, the judges rendered their scorecards. Sterling retained his championship by split decision. The scorecards read 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47.
During Sterling’s post-fight interview, bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley was brought in the cage. He and Sterling had a heated exchange.
Aljamain Sterling defeats Henry Cejudo by split decision in UFC 288 main event