Saturday marks a unique milestone for UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. He’ll face former champion Henry Cejudo at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, in the main event of UFC 288. It will be his first main event in 19 bouts in the UFC.
“I never really cared about the main event spot until I saw it like this [on the billboards outside the arena],” Sterling said Wednesday at UFC 288 media day. “Well, that actually is pretty damn cool and it does feel good.”
Cejudo is on a short list of the greatest fighters in MMA history. If he returns after a three-year absence and defeats Sterling and then goes on to eventually win a featherweight belt, it would be a massive story and might well crown him the sport’s GOAT.
Will Sterling build on his legacy by bullying the former two division champ? Or will Cejudo recapture gold after sitting on the sidelines for the last three years? Yahoo Sports betting analyst Mark Drumheller believes Sterling’s size and reach will be the difference in this fight.
In the co-main event, welterweights Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns meet in a five-round bout to determine the next title contender, according to UFC president Dana White.
Also on the main card is a strawweight match between former champion Jessica Andrade and rising contender Xiaonan Yan. Movsar Evloev, who was originally slated to face Bryce Mitchell, will face Diego Lopes in a featherweight bout after Mitchell pulled out earlier this week due to an injury. Featherweights Kron Gracie and Charles Jourdain will kick off the pay-per-view in what should be a closely contested battle.
Yahoo Sports will have complete coverage of these fights and everything that goes down at UFC 288, so keep it locked here for all the details.
UFC 288 live tracker
UFC 288 main card, odds (Start time 10 p.m. ET ESPN+ PPV)
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Bantamweight: Aljamain Sterling (C) (+100) vs. Henry Cejudo (-120)
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Welterweight: Gilbert Burns (-140) vs. Belal Muhammad (+120)
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Women’s strawweight: Jessica Andrade (-185) vs. Xiaonan Yan (+150)
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Featherweight: Diego Lopes (+600) vs. Movsar Evloev (-1000)
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Featherweight: Kron Gracie (+145) vs. Charles Jourdain (-175)
UFC 288 prelims, odds (Start time 8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+)
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Lightweight: Drew Dober (-225) vs. Matt Frevola (+185)
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Light heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu (-185) vs. Devin Clark (+150)
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Welterweight: Khaos Williams (-400) vs. Rolando Bedoya (+300)
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Women’s strawweight: Marina Rodriguez (-125) vs. Virna Jandiroba (+105)
UFC 288 early prelims, odds (Start time 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass)
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Heavyweight: Braxton Smith (+145) vs. Parker Porter (-175)
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Middleweight: Phil Hawes (+165) vs. Ikram Aliskerov (-200)
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Flyweight: Rafael Estevam (-200) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (+160)
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Middleweight: Joseph Holmes (+150) vs. Claudio Ribeiro (-185)
