Matches To Make After UFC 288

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC 288 went down last night (Sat., May 6, 2023) inside Prudential Center in Newark, NJ., which saw Aljamain Sterling defeating Henry Cejudo via razor-thin split decision a…

UFC 288: Sterling v Cejudo — Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC 288 went down last night (Sat., May 6, 2023) inside Prudential Center in Newark, NJ., which saw Aljamain Sterling defeating Henry Cejudo via razor-thin split decision after a back-and-forth scrap to retain his Bantamweight title (recap). In the co-headlining act, Belal Muhammad earned a unanimous decision win over Gilbert Burns after sweeping all five rounds (relive it here).

Winner: Aljamain Sterling

Who He Should Face Next: Sean O’Malley

After Sterling edged out Cejudo, O’Malley stepped into the Octagon and he and “Funkmaster” started the trash-talking and promotion for their eventual championship scrap straight away. Merab Dvalshvilli — who is actually ranked No. 1 — won’t face his teammate, Sterling, so this is the title fight that will happen next, possibly at the year-end pay-per-view (PPV) event. It’s a great stylistic matchup, but O’Malley is going to have to be on his “A” game if he wants to dethrone Sterling, who looked good against the former “champ-champ.”

Winner: Belal Muhammad

Who He Should Face Next: Title shot

Leon Edwards doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to give Colby Covington his shot at the title, saying he will likely wait till late 2023 to make his return to action. If “Chaos” grows impatient, he can always face Muhammad, but I highly doubt he will do that unless UFC forces him too. Dana White recently stated that Khamzat Chimaev is going through personal things that are preventing him from competing, so that fight is off the table for Muhammad, as well. All that said, it seems “Remember The Name” will simply have to wait to see what happens between Edwards and Covington to see who his next opponent will be.

Winner: Yan Xiaonan

Who She Should Face Next: Rose Namajunas

Xiaonan scored a huge win by knocking out Jessica Andrade in the very first round to earn her second straight win. The win will definitely put her in the Top 5, but she could still need one more win in order to earn a shot at the title because, in my opinion, Amanda Lemos is ahead of her in the championship race. I am feeling a fight against former champion, Namajunas, next. “Thug Rose” is currently ranked No. 2 at the moment and lost the title to Carla Esparza over a year ago, so she should be gearing up for a return pretty soon.

Winner: Movsar Evloev

Who He Should Face Next: Bryce Mitchell

It took him 15 minutes, but Evloev managed to defeat late replacement, Diego Lopes, via unanimous decision, though Lopes gave Evloev all he could handle. Evloev was originally set to face Mitchell at this event, but “Thug Nasty” was pulled a few days from the event under not-so mysterious circumstances. If all is well with Mitchell, it only makes sense to re-book the fight sooner, rather than later. Evloev improves to 17-0, which includes 7-0 inside the Octagon.

Winner: Charles Jourdain

Who He Should Face Next: Steve Garcia

Jourdain got back on the winning track by scoring a bizarre unanimous decision win over an uninterested Kron Gracie. Jourdan tried to bring the fight, but Gracie just wasn’t in the mood to be in the Octagon, it seemed. Nevertheless, Jourdain is back in the win column and a fight against Garcia could be on the horizon. Garcia is currently on a two-fight win streak and was last seen knocking out Shayilan Nuerdanbieke at UFC 287 last month.

For complete UFC 288 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.