Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith are taking a look at the UFC 288 main event.
There is a huge bantamweight title fight coming up in New Jersey this weekend at UFC 288. UFC champion Aljamain Sterling will put his belt on the line against former two-division champion Henry Cejudo. This fight is being dubbed as the new champion versus the old champion, the new guard versus the old guard. Cejudo has been away from the sport for three years since he retired in 2020. Now he is back and looking to regain his lost bantamweight title.
This fight is exciting for many reasons, fans are anxious to see Cejudo returning from retirement, to see how he looks inside the cage. Also, Sterling has been met with criticism since winning his title by disqualification in his fight with Petr Yan back in 2021. A win over Cejudo would prove to the fans that Sterling is the true bantamweight champion and rightfully so.
Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith put their predictions in for the UFC 288 main event
As they do with all the big UFC pay-per-view cards, Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith have put in their predictions for this fight. They met on YouTube to discuss the bout and who they think will be the winner and undisputed champion after Saturday night’s fight card.
“I’m not confident in it but I do believe Cejudo is more powerful with the hands. We’ve seen it, he’s got power man. He beat Demetrious Johnson. He’s faster. He knocked out Dillashaw and Cruz,” Bisping said. “That was three years ago as well, maybe even maybe four years for Dillashaw. Three years ago, Dominick Cruz wasn’t getting knocked out by people, he did by Cejudo, so I’m gonna say Cejudo, I think he gets done.”
Bisping is putting his money on Cejudo returning to championship form and taking out Sterling. Neither of these men were overly confident in their picks but Smith has chosen to go the other route.
“I’m not super confident either but I promised myself that I was going to quit, every time Aljo fights, I don’t know what it is about his style, or his approach or his game, I just always see a path to victory for the other guy,” Smith said. “So I’ve tried to do a better job of paying closer attention to Aljo and I do see one and I think that it is the wrestling and grappling. He’s so transitional and attacks and those transitions are so fast and Cejudo, he’s always moving and grooving to somewhere, and I think it leaves a lot of opportunities for Aljo. So I’m gonna go Aljo.”
UFC 288 takes place on Saturday, May 6 live from Newark, New Jersey. Sterling, a Long Island native will be the hometown favorite, but perhaps Cejudo will be playing the role of spoiler. Bisping and Smith could not come to an agreement on this matchup, so on Monday morning when they meet again and one will be right and one will be wrong.