MANILA, Philippines – There was much trash talking leading up to the bantamweight title fight between current belt holder Aljamain Sterling and the returning legend Henry Cejudo. The fight had its moments, but as Sean O’Malley later derisively said to the former, (you) better look better than that.”
So much for making Cejudo eat his 2008 Olympic gold medal. So much for Cejudo wanting to hurt Sterling.
At the end of their five-round main event fight at UFC 288 last May 7 at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, Sterling (23-3-0) took a split decision over Cejudo (16-3-0).
Sterling landed 186 strikes to Cejudo’s 143. The champion took down Cejudo four times while the latter returned the favor thrice.
The former two-division champion in Cejudo had problems with the reach of Sterling. And yet, when the champion was taken down, he came close to a submission; once even being literally saved by the bell.
And yet, Cejudo was not his old explosive self, although he did move forward a lot. He isn’t moving forward the way he wanted as he took his first ever UFC loss and mulled whether he should return or not.
"Hats off to Henry Cejudo, I knew it was a close fight coming in,” said Sterling. “I wasn't sure which way the decision was going to go, I had it 3-2. I wish I could have done better, but Henry's a legend. It wasn't an easy task to run through him like I did everyone else. Stay persistent, keep gunning for that takedown, and I think that's where I won the fight. Sugar Sean (O'Malley), where you at?!"
Sterling better be careful for what he wishes for.
A scuffle nearly broke inside the Octagon when O’Malley made his way inside, after which the two traded barbs and had to be separated. From all indications, the two will have to wait until September to get their hands on each other.
In the co-main event, Belal Muhammad (23-3-0) was impressive in taking a unanimous decision win over Gilbert Burns (22-6-0).
Over five rounds, damage from Muhammad's powerful kicks added up and prohibited Burns from getting inside and implementing his grappling. With the dominant decision win, Muhammad becomes next in line for the championship, and he said, "You give me eight weeks, I can beat Jon Jones. You give me three weeks; I can beat any welterweight in the world. Leon and Colby, I'm coming for both of you guys!"
Burns’ loss set him back big time as he was hoping for a win to get a crack at Leon Edwards’ belt.
Now he has go through another challenge or two before that shot.
Meanwhile, China's Yan Xiaonan shocked the world by knocking out former champion Jessica Andrade, setting herself up for a potential title match with UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili.
Gushed Yan, “I am so happy! This is the happiest moment since I got into the UFC. Thank you everybody! I've been training in the US for one year. Thank you everybody from Team Alpha Male and everybody who has helped me."
When asked about the potentially explosive battle with Zhang, Yan looked to its potential impact, "I think if both of us can represent the female fighters from China at the highest level of this sport, we will make them proud of us. Dana, let's make it happen!"
At the post-fight press conference, when UFC President Dana White was asked about Zhang Weili versus Yan Xiaonan in China, he said, "I'm definitely looking at China right now."
The Prudential Center sold out all its tickets with the announced attendance at 17,559 paying patrons.
The gross total revenue for the announced live gate was $5,182,210.36, making it the highest-grossing sporting event in Prudential Center history.
The Fight of the Night was awarded to Movsar Evloev, who defeated Diego Lopes in a whale of a fight. Two Performance of the Night Awards were handed out to Yan Xiaonan and Matt Frevola, who knocked out Drew Dober in the first round of their lightweight bout that ended the preliminary cards.
The UFC is shown live in the Philippines every week on the Premier Sports Channel on Sky and Cignal as well as the TapGo TV application.