Henry Cejudo predicts finish of Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288: ‘I’m just here to rob the bank’
Former two-weight champion, Henry Cejudo appears supremely confident of a victory over champion, Aljamain Sterling in their UFC 288 headliner next month – predicting a stoppage triumph before the championship rounds.
Cejudo, a former undisputed bantamweight and flyweight titleholder, retired from mixed martial arts competition back in May 2020 following a successful title defense against fellow former gold holder, Dominick Cruz.
Henry Cejudo envisions dominant victory over Aljamain Sterling
Set to snap that three-year surprise retirement from the sport next weekend atop a UFC 288 pay-per-view event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey – Cejudo expects to force the issue against champion, Sterling inside three rounds to reclaim bantamweight spoils.
“I see Aljamain Sterling – I see a damn Benjamin,” Henry Cejudo told ESPN during a recent interview. “I see T.J. Dillashaw, I see a damn Benjamin. “I’m just here to rob the bank and that’s a reality. That’s how I feel and that’s what I’m gonna do on May 6. because Aljamain’s just not at my level and I love it. As a matter of fact, UFC actually hired me as a hitman to take this dude out. Did the UFC really want to give me a title shot? ‘No, but Henry, you’re stylistically the best matchup and we want him out of here.’ I’m like, alright. Let me put on my gloves. I’m gonna go out and get that job done.”
“…Aljamain knows I’m the guy out of everybody on the whole roster, whether he wants to say he’s gonna put me out in two rounds or I don’t deserve it, I’m letting you babysit my belt,” Henry Cejudo explained. “He knows that I’m just the toughest matchup stylistically. I know he knows what I’m capable of doing. This fight doesn’t go past three rounds.”
As for Uniondale native, Sterling, the Serra-Longo MMA staple has already chalked up successful bantamweight title defenses against former champions, Petr Yan, and the above-mentioned common-foe, Dillashaw since assuming the throne back in 2021.
