Aljamain Sterling retained his bantamweight title against former champion Henry Cejudo in a split decision at UFC 288.
On Saturday, UFC 288 took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main event saw former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo attempt to win back the championship he retired from three years ago against current champion Aljamain Sterling.
Cejudo applied pressure to Sterling, who circled on the outside. Cejudo managed to take Sterling down, but the current champ rolled and got back to his feet. Sterling secured a takedown soon after, only the second time in Cejudo’s career, and worked knees to the body. Sterling ended the round taking Cejudo’s back.
In the second round, Sterling picked up the pace while Cejudo found his range. Both fighters exchanged shots, with Cejudo landing a clean right hand near the end of the round. The fight continued with grappling on both sides, but Sterling managed a takedown and landed knees to Cejudo’s body. In the final round, Cejudo pressed forward and pressured Sterling, but Sterling absorbed his strikes and defended his takedown attempts. After a heated exchange, Sterling retained his championship by split decision.
Following the fight, bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley entered the cage and had a heated exchange with Sterling during the post-fight interview. Despite being a split decision, Sterling managed to retain his championship.