The UFC returns to Newark, New Jersey for this Saturday’s UFC 288, and that’s far from the only return.
In the main event, former double-champ and Olympic gold medal winner Henry Cejudo returns from retirement, stepping into the cage for the first time since a 2020 win against Dominick Cruz. Cejudo, the self-styled “Triple C,” will challenge Aljamain Sterling for gold, in a fight that marks Sterling’s third attempt at defending his title.
Sterling won the belt in controversial fashion against Petr Yan, becoming the first fighter in UFC history to win a title via DQ, due to an illegal knee by the Russian. Since then, “Aljo” put that controversy to rest, beating Yan in a rematch, and following that up with a win against T.J. Dillashaw.
A co-main event welterweight fight, meanwhile, has Belal Muhammad taking on Gilbert Burns. In a just world, the pairing of the #4 and #5 ranked fighters would almost certainly lead to a title shot for the winner. However, MMA in 2023 is far from a “just world,” with Colby Covington already gifted the next title shot, and Khamzat Chimaev somehow still ranked #3 despite the obvious need for him to stay at middleweight after blowing weight by 7.5 pounds for UFC 279.
Weigh-ins for UFC 288 take place Friday morning in Newark, results can be found below.
UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo Weigh-In Results
Main card
Bantamweight: Aljamain Sterling (c) (134) vs. Henry Cejudo (135) — for the UFC bantamweight championship
Welterweight: Belal Muhammad (170) vs. Gilbert Burns (171)
Women’s Strawweight: Jéssica Andrade (115) vs. Yan Xiaonan (115)
Featherweight bout: Movsar Evloev (145) vs. Diego Lopes (146)
Featherweight: Kron Gracie (145) vs. Charles Jourdain (145)
Preliminary card
Lightweight: Drew Dober (155.5) vs. Matt Frevola (155)
Light Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu (205) vs. Devin Clark (205)
Welterweight: Khaos Williams (169) vs. Rolando Bedoya (170)
Women’s Strawweight: Marina Rodriguez (115) vs. Virna Jandiroba (115)
Early preliminary card
Heavyweight: Braxton Smith (262) vs. Parker Porter (249)
Middleweight: Phil Hawes (185) vs. Ikram Aliskerov (186)
Flyweight: Rafael Estevam vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (125.5) **
Middleweight: Joseph Holmes (189)* vs. Claudio Ribeiro (185)
* Holmes announced just prior to weigh-ins that he would miss weight, and came in 3lbs over the non-title middleweight limit.
** Due to weight management issues with Rafael Estevam, his fight with Zhalgas Zhumagulov has been cancelled.
I’m more disappointed in myself than any of you could ever be but I missed weight for the first time today🥺
— UglyManJoe Gaming (@UglyMan_Joe) May 5, 2023
