‘Are you ready?’ Watch icy Aljamain Sterling confront Henry Cejudo at fighter hotel ahead of UFC 288

Aljamain Sterling had his first fight-week confrontation with Henry Cejudo after both fighters arrived at the promotion’s host hotel on Sunday, less than a week in front of their upcoming bantamweight title fight in the UFC 288 pay-per-view (PPV) main event this Sat. night (May 6, 2023) inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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BLOCKBUSTER BANTAMWEIGHT BATTLE! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Newark, N.J., for the first time in more than three years on Sat., May 6, 2023, with a blockbuster Bantamweight collision inside Prudential Center that will see Aljamain Sterling attempt another successful title defense against returning two-division titleholder and former gold medal-winning Olympic wrestler, Henry Cejudo. In UFC 288’s last-minute pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, former Welterweight title challenger, Gilbert Burns, locks horns with No. 4-seeded contender, Belal Muhammad, in a five-round, 170-pound No. 1 contender eliminator match.

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“It’s gonna be a good show for the fans,” Sterling said. “That’s all I care about. As long as it’s a good show, I know I’m gonna make my money and do it in a good way, put on a good performance. I’m sorry man, but unfortunately this is how the game goes. You gotta crush another man’s dreams.”

Icy, but certainly more cordial than their last confrontation.

Cejudo (16-2) already fulfilled his dream of becoming bantamweight champion after crushing Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 but has not competed since planishing Dominick Cruz as part of the UFC 249 PPV back in May 2020. As for Sterling (22-3), he captured the crown by turning away Petr Yan and recently retired TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.

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.