UFC 288’s main card is set with Gilbert Burns vs. Belal Muhammad as the co-main event, filling the spot vacated by Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush.
After a tumultuous couple of weeks for UFC 288, the pay-per-view main card has now been set with the addition of Gilbert Burns vs. Belal Muhammad as the co-main event. The welterweights agreed to meet in a five-round fight on May 6 after the original co-headliner between Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush was moved to UFC 289 following an injury suffered by Oliveira that forced him to postpone his return by a few weeks. Burns and Muhammad made the call to jump into the spot vacated by Dariush vs. Oliveira, and now they’ll meet in a five-round fight, with the winner taking a huge step forward toward title contention at 170 pounds.
Burns is coming off a unanimous decision win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287 just a few weeks ago, which gave him back-to-back victories after his submission over Neil Magny in January. Meanwhile, Muhammad fights for the first time since October, when he stopped Sean Brady with strikes in the second round, extending his unbeaten streak to nine fights in a row. Another addition that recently joined the card was a featherweight showdown between undefeated prospect Movsar Evloev and Bryce Mitchell. That matchup came together after Mitchell lost his original opponent Jonathan Pearce, so Evloev offered to take the fight on short notice.
Mitchell looks to bounce back from the first loss of his career in a fight against Ilia Topuria, while Evloev attempts to remain undefeated and build upon his perfect 16-0 record, which includes wins over Dan Ige and Hakeem Dawodu in his most recent outings. Of course, the main event pits reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling against Henry Cejudo, who returns from retirement and competes for the first time in three years. The official main card for UFC 288 can be seen below.