| UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | May 6, 2023 (2023-05-06) | |||
| Venue | Prudential Center | |||
| City | Newark, New Jersey, United States | |||
| Attendance | 17,559[1] | |||
| Total gate | $5,182,210.36[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 6, 2023, at thePrudential Center inNewark, New Jersey.[2]
The event marked the promotion's ninth visit to Newark and first sinceUFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Lawler in August 2019.[2]
AUFC Bantamweight Championship bout between current championAljamain Sterling and formerUFC Flyweight andBantamweight ChampionHenry Cejudo headlined the event.[3]
Zhalgas Zhumagulov andNate Maness were expected to meet in a flyweight bout at the event.[4] However, Maness pulled out in early April due to injury and was replaced by Rafael Estevam, who was originally scheduled to fight two weeks earlier atUFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes before an injury also took his opponent.[5] In turn, the bout was scratched the day before the event due to Estevam having weight management issues.[6]
A featherweight bout betweenBryce Mitchell andJonathan Pearce was scheduled for the event.[7] However, Pearce was forced to withdraw from the event due to injury.[8] He was replaced byMovsar Evloev.[9] Mitchell and Evloev were previously scheduled to headlineUFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Lemos in November 2022, but Evloev withdrew due to injury.[10] In turn, Mitchell withdrew on the week of the event for an undisclosed shoulder injury and was replaced by promotional newcomerDiego Lopes.[11]
A lightweight bout between formerUFC Lightweight ChampionCharles Oliveira andBeneil Dariush was expected to take place as the co-main event.[12] However, Oliveira withdrew due to an undisclosed injury.[13] The fight was later rescheduled and moved toUFC 289.[14]
FormerUFC Welterweight Championship challengerGilbert Burns andBelal Muhammad competed in a five-round welterweight bout in the co-main event.[15]
A bantamweight bout between Daniel Santos andJohnny Muñoz Jr. was expected to take place at the event,[16] but it was scratched after Santos withdrew due to an undisclosed injury.[17]
At the weigh-ins, Joseph Holmes weighed in at 189 pounds, three pounds over the middleweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20% of his purse which went to his opponent Claudio Ribeiro.[18]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Bantamweight | Aljamain Sterling (c) | def. | Henry Cejudo | Decision (split) (47–48, 48–47, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Welterweight | Belal Muhammad | def. | Gilbert Burns | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Yan Xiaonan | def. | Jéssica Andrade | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:20 | |
| Featherweight | Movsar Evloev | def. | Diego Lopes | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Charles Jourdain | def. | Kron Gracie | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Lightweight | Matt Frevola | def. | Drew Dober | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:08 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Kennedy Nzechukwu | def. | Devin Clark | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | 2 | 2:28 | |
| Welterweight | Khaos Williams | def. | Rolando Bedoya | Decision (split) (27–30, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Virna Jandiroba | def. | Marina Rodriguez | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Heavyweight | Parker Porter | def. | Braxton Smith | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:10 | |
| Middleweight | Ikram Aliskerov | def. | Phil Hawes | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:10 | |
| Catchweight (189 lb) | Claudio Ribeiro | def. | Joseph Holmes | TKO (punches) | 2 | 3:21 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[20]
On June 27, it was announced byUnited States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that Braxton Smith was suspended for two years after a urine sample he submitted tested positive for exogenous administration oftestosterone and its precursors in two out-of-competition tests on April 19 and May 4, and one in-competition test May 6.[21]
