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UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo is headed to the east coast of the U.S. this Saturday (May 6th), and will kick off at a typical start time from Newark, New Jersey. The PPV main card will be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between the champion, Aljamain Sterling, and the un-retiring king that wilfully forfeited his crown, Henry Cejudo. Aljo has been defying the odds on his championship run at 135-pounds, and is now heading into his third title defense. As for his challenger, Cejudo hung up the gloves as the champion in 2020, but is now looking to reclaim his throne after three-years of retirement.
The night’s co-main event is getting a possible #1 contender’s bout for the welterweight title when the UFC’s #4 ranked, Belal Muhammad, dances with the #5 ranked, Gilbert Burns. I say possible because UFC president Dana White made it blatantly clear that he hand picks the title fights after Leon Edwards’ second win over the former champ Kamaru Usman. Muhammad is currently on an impressive nine-fight unbeaten streak, and has been calling out everyone ahead of him in the rankings in an attempt to get to a title shot. Across from him will be a former title challenger in Burns, who has posted up back-to-back wins over Neil Magny and Jorge Masvidal.
The UFC announced that we’ve lost an intriguing featherweight tilt between Bryce Mitchell and Movsar Evloev, following an undisclosed injury to Bryce. On five days notice, UFC newcomer Diego Lopes will be stepping in to face the promotion’s #10 ranked 145-pounder in Evloev. This is a huge gamble for Movsar. He’s taking on someone unknown, on short notice, and with very little upside outside of a paycheck. As for Lopes, this is pretty much a win-win scenario. Even in a loss, a solid showing from Diego against someone the caliber of Evloev could drastically boost his stock.
The entire event goes down at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
UFC 288 full fight card
Main card (10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV)
- Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo: Bantamweight Title
- Gilbert Burns vs. Belal Muhammad: Welterweight
- Jéssica Andrade vs. Xiaonan Yan: Strawweight
Bryce Mitchell vs. Movsar Evloev: Featherweight- Movsar Evloev vs. Diego Lopes: Featherweight
- Kron Gracie vs. Charles Jourdain: Featherweight
Prelims (8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+)
- Drew Dober vs. Matt Frevola: Lightweight
- Devin Clark vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu: Light Heavyweight
- Khaos Williams vs. Rolando Bedoya: Welterweight
- Marina Rodriguez vs. Virna Jandiroba: Strawweight
Early Prelims (6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+)
- Braxton Smith vs. Parker Porter: Heavyweight
- Phil Hawes vs. Ikram Aliskerov: Middleweight
Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Rafael Estevam: Flyweight- Claudio Ribeiro vs. Joseph Holmes: Middleweight
Daniel Santos vs. Johnny Munoz Jr: Bantamweight
How can I watch UFC 288?
UFC 288 is available on ESPN+ PPV for $79.99 for current subscribers. New subscribers can pay $124.98 for the UFC 288 pay-per-view and an ESPN+ annual subscription.
For full streaming details, and compatible devices go here.
What comes after UFC 288?
The next event after UFC 288 is UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Almeida, which is happening from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. That card will headlined by a clash of top-15 heavyweights when the #12 ranked, Jailton Almeida, meets the #9 ranked, Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The co-main event will see a very light heavyweight bout between former title challenger Anthony Smith and a seemingly rejuvenated Johnny Walker.