The UFC 288 main event saw the highly anticipated bantamweight championship bout between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo. Both competitors promised to put on a show. They delivered on that promise as the bout went the distance, and Sterling clinched the win via split decision. However, what followed after the match was unexpected and turned ugly.
Sterling challenged Sean O’Malley for his next title defense and set up a confrontation inside the octagon. What many believed to be a way to advertise the bout turned into a heated exchange following the match.
Sean O’Malley attended UFC 288 because he planned to compete against the winner of the main event. Upon receiving the callout, O’Malley confronted the UFC bantamweight champion in the cage.
As O’Malley stepped into the octagon, tempers were spiking. As the argument heated up, both got into each other’s faces. Sterling told O’Malley, “Dana ain’t gonna baby sit that a** no more.”
When Sean O’Malley entered the octagon, he took off his red jacket. According to the commentary crew, UFC bantamweight and Sterling’s friend Merab Dvalishvili snagged the jacket and went to celebrate by climbing on the cage fence. This resulted in a tense situation inside the UFC octagon in New Jersey.
Sterling predicted that the next bantamweight title match will take place in September of this year. The UFC bantamweight champ claimed his next title defense against Sean O’Malley as being “signed and sealed” during the scene.
Nevertheless, Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo put up a fantastic match for the UFC crowd. Cejudo took down Sterling in round 1, demonstrating his prowess. Sterling’s strategy was to land a few blows and regain his balance throughout the whole round. Additionally, Cejudo was having issues as a result of Sterling’s shift in stance.
Sterling performed better in the second round. Due to his enormous reach advantage, Cejudo ran into problems. However, Cejudo was able to add a few blows of his own.
Sterling began the third round by landing several solid blows. He also managed to get a takedown on Cejudo. The change in stance, along with the strikes were hurting the former UFC double champion.
The final round began with what seemed to be a balanced bout. Sterling was under continuous pressure from Cejudo. At the very end of the round, Cejudo successfully completed a takedown. The bout finally went to the judges, and Sterling won via split decision.