Aljamain
Sterling remains the gold standard in the Ultimate Fighting
Championship’s bantamweight division.
Sterling (23-3, 15-3 UFC) retained his 135-pound belt with a
hard-fought split-decision triumph over former two-division
champion Henry
Cejudo (16-3, 10-3 UFC) in the UFC 288
main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Saturday
night. Judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon
both submitted 48-47 tallies in favor of “The Funk Master,” while
Michael Bell saw it 48-47 for Cejudo. It was the first bout for the
Olympic gold medalist since he retired following a victory against
Dominick
Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020.
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Sterling utilized his reach advantage, working behind unorthodox
movement, stance switches and a toolbox of kicks — with calf kicks
being an especially effective weapon. The Serra-Longo Fight Team
member set the tone in the opening stanza, when he landed some
knees to the body in close quarters and secured a late takedown,
working his way to Cejudo’s back before the horn. Cejudo had his
moments as well, including a strong push in Round 5 that saw him
put Sterling on his heels with heavy punches, pressure and a late
takedown. Overall, however, the grappling battle was a virtual
stalemate: Sterling landed four takedowns to Cejudo’s three, while
“Triple C” logged 5:06 of control time to his opponent’s 4:00.
Sterling has now won nine straight fights in UFC competition. After
the victory, top contender Sean O’Malley entered the cage to face
off against Sterling. The two bantamweights exchanged words in the
center of the Octagon before Sterling called for a September fight
against the fighter known as “Sugar.” Cejudo, meanwhile, revealed
in a post-fight interview that he is once again considering
retirement.
Muhammad Bests Burns, Secures Title Shot
Belal
Muhammad extended his unbeaten streak to 10 with a clear-cut
unanimous decision victory against Gilbert
Burns in the UFC 288 co-main event. The former Titan FC title
holder received scorecards of 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 from the
cageside judges. The victory presumably sets Muhammad (23-3, 14-3
UFC) up for a welterweight title shot against the winner of a
future clash between Leon
Edwards and Colby
Covington.
“Remember the Name” imposed his will through stance switches,
punching combinations to the head and blistering left kicks to the
body. Burns, who was fighting just one month after besting Jorge
Masvidal at UFC 287, appeared to be compromised for much of the
fight due to a left arm or shoulder injury, and it significantly
affected his offensive output. The Brazilian was able to land his
right hand on occasion and also enjoyed some success with leg
kicks, but they weren’t enough to alter the trajectory of the
fight. Muhammad’s takedown defense also held up, as he thwarted all
four of his opponent’s takedown attempts in the 25-minute
affair.
Yan Shocks Andrade
Xiaonan
Yan made her case for a title shot in emphatic fashion, as she
stopped ex-strawweight champ Jessica
Andrade in the opening stanza of their featured 115-pound bout.
The Team Alpha Male export dropped Andrade (24-11, 15-9 UFC) with a
counter right hand over the top and then punctuated her victory
with a few follow-up strikes on the canvas at the 2:20 mark of
Round 1. Andrade, who was making her third appearance of 2023, has
dropped back-to-back fights for the second time in her promotional
tenure.
Yan (18-3, 8-2 UFC) looked sharp from the outset, as she tagged
Andrade with crisp straight punches as the Brazilian waded forward.
Undaunted, Andrade continued to stalk her foe, winging wide,
powerful hooks in the process. That approach came back to haunt
her, however, when the 33-year-old Chinese standout landed the
perfectly-timed right hand. Yan had gone the distance in her
previous seven UFC triumphs.
Evloev Survives Against Lopes
Movsar
Evloev had all he could handle against Diego
Lopes, but ultimately the former M-1 Global champion emerged
with a hard-fought unanimous decision triumph in a featherweight
encounter. All three judges scored the fight in favor of Evloev:
29-28, 29-28 and 30-27. Lopes, who took the fight on less than one
week’s notice, sees a modest two-bout winning streak come to an
end.
Lopes had plenty of memorable moments in his UFC debut. He tagged
Evloev (17-0, 7-0 UFC) with a right hand early in the opening
stanza and later threatened with an armbar near the end of the
frame. Evloev imposed his will more in Round 2, landing punches to
the head at range and ground-and-pound from top position as Lopes
appeared to be fading.
The Lobo Gym MMA representative had one final push in him, however.
While Evloev kept the pressure on his opponent with pressure,
control and ground-and-pound in the final period, he was forced to
defend a kimura and a kneebar in the waning moments of the bout.
Evloev’s submission defense held up, though the last-ditch leg lock
by Lopes elicited a grimace from the Russian before the horn.
Jourdain Spoils Gracie Return
Charles
Jourdain made sure Kron
Gracie’s first Octagon appearance in nearly four years was one
to forget, as he cruised to a clear-cut unanimous decision triumph
over the son of Rickson
Gracie. All three judges submitted 30-27 tallies in favor of
the 27-year-old Canadian, who halted a two-bout skid. Gracie hadn’t
competed in the UFC since dropping a decision to Cub Swanson
on Oct. 12, 2019.
Jourdain (14-6-1, 5-5-1 UFC) tagged his opponent with crisp
punching combinations to the head and body throughout the
three-round affair. Gracie, meanwhile, offered little on the feet
in a one-dimensional approach, and his most significant moments
consisted of pulling Jourdain into his guard. To his credit,
Jourdain never gave Gracie (5-2, 1-2 UFC) an opening to secure a
submission, and he was consistently successful in returning to his
feet or disengaging from the clinch. Despite his lack of success,
Gracie never wavered from his game plan. When all was said and
done, Jourdain landed more significant strikes (80) than his
opponent attempted (57).
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