Aljamain Sterling will look to defend his bantamweight title for the third time when he faces Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 in May. ‘Funk Master’ recently shared his thoughts on his upcoming bout against the former two-division champion.
In a video shared to his Twitter account, Sterling highlighted Cejudo’s strengths, praising his toughness, resilience and wrestling pedigree. The bantamweight king said:
“I’m fighting May 6th against Henry Cejudo. I’m looking forward to the challenge. Again, I think Henry’s a very tough dude, very accomplished in the wrestling world. I think also in the MMA world. He’s had his ups and downs the same way I have and he’s shown the ability to bounce back and I think that’s what makes us very, very similar… He’s a tough competitor and he’s in there to win every single time he makes the walk.”
A fan responded by claiming that the bantamweight champion always takes tough matchups, prompting Sterling to respond:
“I can’t wait! It’ll be a battle of the minds for sure! ?”
Check out Aljamain Sterling’s comments on Henry Cejudo below:
Although Aljamain Sterling is the current titleholder in the bantamweight division, Henry Cejudo walked away as champion nearly three years ago when he vacated the title. The two fighters have teased a potential matchup for several months following the former double champion’s announcement that he would return to mixed martial arts.
Henry Cejudo tells Sean O’Malley to stay ready in case Aljamain Sterling backs out
Henry Cejudo is set to return to the octagon after a three-year hiatus when he faces Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288.
The former double champion recently shared that he believes the bantamweight champion could pull out of the fight. As such, Cejudo has told No.1-ranked bantamweight Sean O’Malley to stay ready in case the champion withdraws. Speaking on his YouTube channel, ‘Triple C’ said:
“Is Aljamain Sterling, is he ready? Does he really want that smoke? Cause quite frankly guys, I really don’t think Aljamain Sterling wants that smoke, so at the same time, the only thing that I could say to Sean O’Malley, stay ready, stay prepared… There is that precaution that Aljamain may not show up.“
Catch Cejudo’s comments below (1:42):
While the UFC had previously looked to book the bantamweight title fight for UFC 285, Sterling was unable to accept the bout due to a partially torn bicep. The bantamweight champion underwent stem cell therapy earlier this month to heal his injury, however, Cejudo seems to believe he will pull out of their bout.
If the title bout stays intact, Sean O’Malley is expected to take on the winner later this year.