Aljamain Sterling remains the gold standard in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division.
Sterling (23-3, 15-3 UFC) retained his 135-pound belt with a hard-fought split-decision victory over second division champion Henry Cejudo (16-3, 10-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC 288 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Saturday night. Judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon each gave it a 48-47 count in favor of “The Funk Master”, while Michael Bell saw it 48-47 for Cejudo. This was the Olympic gold medal winner’s first match since retiring after defeating Dominic Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020.
Sterling took advantage of his reach, working behind an unorthodox movement, stand-up switches and an array of kicks – with leg kicks being a particularly effective weapon. The Serra-Longo Fight Team member set the tone in the opening segment, when he landed some knees to the body at close quarters and got a late takedown, working his way up Cejudo’s back before the century. Cejudo had his moments too, including a powerful push in the fifth round that saw him put Sterling on his heels with heavy punches, pressings and late stops. Overall, however, the escalating fight was a virtual stalemate: Sterling landed four takedowns for Sejudo’s third, while “Triple C” posted a 5:06 control time to his opponent’s 4:00.
Sterling has now won nine consecutive fights in the UFC competition. After the win, top contender Sean O’Malley entered the cage to face Sterling. The two exchanged words in the middle of the octagon before calling out Sterling for a September fight against the fighter known as “Sugar”. Meanwhile, in a post-fight interview, Cejudo revealed that he is once again considering retirement.
Muhammad Best Burns, secures the title shot
Bilal Muhammad extended his undefeated streak to 10 with an apparent unanimous decision win over Gilbert Burns in the co-main event of UFC 288. The former Titan FC titleholder received scorecards 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 from the cage judges. The victory supposedly puts Muhammad (23-3, 14-3 UFC) on his way to a welterweight title against the winner of a future showdown between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington.
Remember the Name imposed his will with standing switches, punching combinations to the head and left kicks to the body. Burns, who was fighting just a month after his victory over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287, appeared to be compromised for most of the fight due to an injury to his left arm or shoulder, and it greatly affected his offensive production. The Brazilian was able to land his right hand at times and also enjoyed some success with leg kicks, but it wasn’t enough to turn the fight around. Muhammad’s defense was also delayed, as he thwarted all four of his opponent’s takedown attempts in the 25-minute affair.
Jan shocks Andrade
Xiaonan Yan made her case for a championship title in emphatic fashion, stopping former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade in the opening segment of her 115-pound bout. An export took down Alpha Male Andrade (24-11, 15-9 UFC) with an over-the-top counter right hand, then punctuated her win with some follow-up strikes to the canvas at 2:20 of the first round. Andrade, who was making her third appearance in 2023, dropped back-to-back fights for the second time in her promotional stint.
Yan (18-3, 8-2 UFC) looked sharp from the start, landing Andrade with crisp straight punches as the Brazilian charged forward. Undaunted, Andrade continued to pursue her opponent, winging wide and powerful in the process. That approach came back to haunt her, however, when the 33-year-old Chinese landed a perfectly timed right hand. Yan has gone the distance in her previous seven UFC victories.
Evloev survives against Lopez
Movsar Evloev had everything he could handle against Diego Lopez, but in the end the former M-1 world champion emerged with a unanimous decision victory in the featherweight bout. All three judges scored the fight in favor of Evloev: 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27. Lopez, who went into the fight in less than a week, sees his modest two-bout winning streak come to an end.
Lopez had a lot of memorable moments in his UFC debut. He tagged Evloev (17-0, 7-0 UFC) with a right hand early in the opening segment and later threatened with an armbar near the end of the frame. Evloev imposed his will further in the second round, landing punches to the head at range and the ground and pound from the top position as López appeared to fade.
However, the Lobo Gym MMA actor had one last push in him. While Evloev kept the pressure on his opponent with pressure, control, ground and pound in the final period, he was forced to defend the kimura and knee in the final moments of the match. Evloev’s submission defense held, though a final leg lock by Lopes triggered a grimace from the Russian before the century.
Jordan spoils Gracie’s comeback
Making sure Kron Gracie’s Octagon debut in nearly four years was something to forget, Charles Jordan cruised to an apparent unanimous decision victory over Rickson Gracie’s son. All three judges gave a 30-27 count in favor of the 27-year-old Canadian, who stopped a two-run slide. Gracie has not competed in the UFC since dropping his decision to Cub Swanson on October 12, 2019.
Jourdain (14-6-1, 5-5-1 UFC) marked his opponent with clear punch combinations to the head and body throughout the three-round affair. Gracie, meanwhile, offers little on his feet in a one-dimensional approach, his high point being to lure Jordan on his guard. To his credit, Jordan never gave Gracie (5-2, 1-2 UFC) a chance to secure submission, and was consistently successful getting back on his feet or disengaging. Despite his lack of success, Gracie never wavered in his game plan. When all was said and done, Jordan landed more significant hits (80) than his opponent attempted (57).
Continue reading “
UFC 288 Prelims: Matt Frivola reigns supreme in the fire fight against Drew Dawber