The stage is set and the work is complete.
Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will defend his 135-pound strap against former division titleholder Henry Cejudo atop the ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) mixed martial arts (MMA) event tomorrow night (Sat., May 6, 2023) at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Both fighters came face-to-face at the conclusion of the UFC 288 ceremonial weigh ins (replay here) and things got physical when tempers boiled over.
Watch the drama unfold in the embedded video above.
For official UFC 288 weigh ins text results and early video click here.
The five-round welterweight co-main event between Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns takes over for Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush, a lightweight title eliminator that got shifted to UFC 289 when “Do Bronx” was felled by injury. Watch “Remember the Name” come face-to-face with “Durinho” in the embedded video below.
Muhammad vs. Burnspic.twitter.com/gRIzynPnPK
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) May 5, 2023
Nothing left to do now except fight.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 288 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 288: “Sterling vs. Cejudo” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 288 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.