Aljamain Sterling has responded after he was pestered by Henry Cejudo’s team at the UFC 288 weigh-ins earlier today.
As Sterling took to the scale ahead of his bantamweight title fight with Cejudo, the mind-games began for team Cejudo. The Olympian gold medalist’s team pursued to throw chants towards Sterling during his weigh-in, which saw the defending champion hit 134-pounds.
On Saturday, May.5, Sterling is set to headline his first UFC event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and has the opportunity to make history by becoming the first fighter in the company’s history to defend the bantamweight title three consecutive times. His opponent, Cejudo, a former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion, can also write his name into the division’s history books by becoming the first person to win the title over 35.
During the fight’s build-up, both men engaged in a verbal back-and-forth and trash talk and traded insults, intending to step inside the cage with the mental advantage in their favour.
Henry Cejudo’s team disrupts Aljamain Sterling weigh in
Now, 24 hours prior to the fight day, Cejudo’s team have given it one last attempt to disrupt and break Sterling’s confidence by chanting “and new!” at the weigh-ins.
Sterling admitted while on the scale, the weight cut was “tougher than I thought.” but dropped a sigh of relief, knowing he was now able to rehydrate. It didn’t take the champion long before he addressed Cejudo’s team on Twitter, labelling the squad as “unprofessional.”
UFC President Dana White disclosed his excitement for tomorrow’s bantamweight main event and the return of Cejudo. The boss stated that if Sterling could beat Cejudo, the fans may start appreciating his legitimacy and stop giving him a hard time. Off-course, referencing his last three performances, where he first attained the title via disqualification against Petr Yan.
