Aljamain Sterling will look to make UFC bantamweight history when he faces Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 this weekend. ‘Funk Master’ will attempt to become the first fighter in division history with three consecutive title defenses in one reign.
The bantamweight champion recently shared that he believes he can also land his first career knockout on the feet. Speaking at the UFC 288 media day, the No.6-ranked pound-for-pound fighter stated:
“I hope he stays on the outside. I’m going to pick his a** apart. I really do think so. I think this might be my first stand-up KO. I would like to get the takedown and then to TKO him on the ground, but I think if he tries to strike with me on the outside, I get to pick him apart and really display my striking once again like I did against Pedro Munhoz, like I did against Jimmie Rivera, and these are all high-level strikers.
Aljamain Sterling continued:
“I would say better than Henry Cejudo, so if he thinks that he’s bringing anything different that I haven’t seen – I’m bringing something he hasn’t seen yet. I’m bringing the funk and that’s a completely different style. Something that’s very hard to prepare for. Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m going to do in there.”
Check out Aljamain Sterling’s full comments below:
Cejudo will look to reclaim the bantamweight title that he vacated in 2020 prior to a three-year hiatus. Sterling, who has held the belt for the past two years, will aim to continue his title reign against arguably his toughest opponent yet.
Henry Cejudo shares his plans for after Aljamain Sterling
While Henry Cejudo remains focused on his upcoming title fight against Aljamain Sterling, he knows exactly what he wants next if he is able to claim the title.
‘Triple C’ recently revealed that he would like to face Sean O’Malley before challenging Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title. Speaking at the UFC 288 media day, the former double champ labeled ‘Sugar’ a ‘dirty Q-tip’ and ‘privileged brat’ before stating:
“I want O’Malley. Make sure he listens to this, I want him right away. I want to take at least about a month off and then boom, UFC set it up. Let’s set it up and let’s do it in Boston. Let’s do it in his backyard. That wannabe American… I have Aljo, O’Malley and then I’m going after Volkanovski and I want him in Australia. I want him in his own backyard.”
Cejudo is looking to challenge for the featherweight title with the opportunity to become the first three-division champion in UFC history. He will, however, need to get through Sterling this weekend in order to earn the opportunity.
Check out Henry Cejudo’s comments on his future plans below (starting at the 28:25 mark):