Ahead of his incoming UFC 288 championship outing against former titleholder, Henry Cejudo this weekend, reigning bantamweight kingpin, Aljamain Sterling has his sights set on an eventual championship outing at the featherweight limit, in pursuit of a second Octagon crown.
Slated to headline UFC 288 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey this weekend in a championship outing against former duel-weight champion, Cejudo, Sterling will attempt to become the first bantamweight titleholder to successfully defend the crown on three separate occasions.
Last time out, Uniondale native, Sterling co-headlined UFC 280 back in October of last year in Abu Dhabi, UAE, stopping former champion, T.J. Dillashaw with a second round slew of ground strikes.
Aljamain Sterling still plotting featherweight UFC move
And ahead of UFC 288 this weekend against Cejudo, Sterling has outlined his intentions to likely challenge a combination of champions, Alexander Volkanovski, or Yair Rodriguez at the featherweight limit in the future.
“I smash Henry [Cejudo],” Aljamain Sterling told Megan Olivi. “I smash [Sean] O’Malley. I go up to 145 [pounds], I fight [Alexander] Volkanovski or [Yair] Rodriguez and maybe I defend the belt one time and I’m done.”
Aljo eyes double-champ status
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— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 30, 2023
As for both Volkanovski and Rodriguez, the featherweight titleholders are slated to headline UFC 290 during International Fight Week in July of this summer, in a championship unification clash.
Both sharing their predictions ahead of ‘The Garden State’ title affair, Sterling maintains that once he defeats Cejudo at UFC 288, the former two-weight champion and Olympic gold medalist will call time on his professional career again.
While on the other hand, Los Angeles-born challenger, Cejudo backs his style to comfortably dispatch Sterling within just three rounds come their UFC 288 headlining clash, further claiming he’s just back in the promotion to “rob the bank” against Sterling.