Aljamain Sterling announces Henry Cejudo fight for UFC 288

Aljamain Sterling will compete against a returning Henry Cejudo at UFC 288, according to Sterling himself. 

During a new Youtube video, Sterling announced that he will defend his UFC bantamweight title against Cejudo on May 6. No official announcement has been made by the UFC. 

“I’m fighting May 6 against Henry Cejudo. I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Sterling said. “Henry, I can not wait for the challenge to fight you and I know and I hope you can’t fight me as well. The crowd deserves a big fight. This is a big fight for the bantamweight division.”

Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo is Expected to Finally Happen

For months, rumors have been swirling on if and when the two bantamweights would square off. Now, it seems that they are expected to fight at UFC 288. 

Sterling (22-3) has been on a tear in the bantamweight division for nearly five years. He’s been unbeaten dating back to April 2018. He captured the bantamweight title against Petr Yan in a controversial disqualification at UFC 259. A year later, he silenced critics by successfully defending the title against Yan. He defended the title for a second time, when he secured a second-round TKO against T.J. Dillashaw last October at UFC 280. 

Cejudo hasn’t fought since May 2020. The former two-division world champion last defeated Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. He is a former UFC flyweight and bantamweight world champion. 

“I’m happy that I’m sitting on top of the [bantamweight] throne. I know you’re happy that you’ve been once on top of this throne. Let’s go out there and show the world some magic and make some good things happen and make this one for the history books,” Sterling said. “I’m taking you very very seriously and I can not wait to put my shin across your head and show you that you’re good but you’re just not on my level.”