UFC 288
Review
Aljamain Sterling is the new record holder for most bantamweight title defenses. His clash with "Triple C" and what else happened on the night of July 7th – now in our review.
Sterling vs Cejudo
Close race...
Once again, Bruce Buffer tested our patience until the very last second. 48-47 for Cejudo and twice for Sterling, 48-47. In a close and competitive fight, the "Funkmaster" narrowly prevailed via split decision and defended his title, which he had practically been given by disqualification of his opponent Petr Yan, for the third time.
Before this fight, experts spoke of the biggest challenge the Jamaican would face since winning his title. Cejudo made his return to the octagon after almost three years, dominating the flyweight and bantamweight divisions at the time.
The fight began with Cejudo applying pressure, but towards the end of the first round, Sterling landed the clearer strikes and a strong takedown, temporarily gaining the lead. Two rounds followed, with Cejudo favored by the majority of the judges. Round four went comparatively clearly to Sterling. The decisive final round was again closer. Generally, nuances decided the outcome, and the funkmaster undoubtedly also had the necessary bit of luck on his side. A good show for the spectators in Newark, although—to be honest—there were no real striking highlights.
We take our hats off to Belal Muhammad, who, with a dominant performance that few would have expected to be so decisive, put the all-rounder Gilbert "Durinho" Burns in his place. In each of the five rounds, the Palestinian-American mixed martial artist demonstrated his versatility and overwhelmed the Brazilian in a fight that lasted over 25 minutes entirely on the ground.
Yan Xianonan won the Performance of the Night against Jessica Andrade via TKO after just 2 minutes and is now aiming for a title shot in the women's strawweight division.
Diego Lopes, who stepped in at short notice, put in a spirited performance against the #10 featherweight, Movsar Evloev, but lost the "Fight of the Night" by unanimous decision. Charles Jourdain lived up to his role as favorite, also defeating Kron Gracie by unanimous decision.
What happens next?
Two clear title shots
Immediately after the ruling, which temporarily left Sterling as champion, he called American show host Sean O'Malley into the octagon and engaged in a trash-talking spiel, much to the delight of the approximately 15,000 fans at the Prudential Center in Newark. A clash between the two for the bantamweight title seems set in stone, with many predicting UFC 292 in September.
Muhammad will almost certainly get a welterweight title shot, too. However, this will likely take some time. His future title challenger won't be chosen until the end of July in London. He will be either Covington or Edwards. And we know Dana White's UFC, so the more time remains, the more surprising matchup twists and turns there could be. However, a fight in which Belal Muhammad challenges for the title seems very likely.