UFC 288 predictions: Aljamain Sterling to defend his title against Henry Cejudo

The bout pits Sterling against his opponent, who models a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu-based style and aims to initiate grappling exchanges and pursue a relentless pace to put his opponents under threat.

UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling in a file photo [Image-ufc.com]
By Blesson Daniel | May 4, 2023 | 4 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

UFC 288 is scheduled for Saturday, May 6 at the Prudential Centre in New Jersey, USA. Aljamain Sterling will defend his bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo in the main event. Gilbert Burns will square off against Belal Muhammad in the co-main event.

A highly anticipated UFC Bantamweight Championship fight between current champion Aljamain Sterling and former UFC Flyweight and Bantamweight Champion, as well as a 2008 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, Henry Cejudo will headline the event.

Originally set to fight in a flyweight contest, Zhalgas Zhumagulov and Nate Maness were forced to withdraw due to injury in early April. Rafael Estevam came in to fill the vacancy, having suffered a setback two weeks earlier at UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes when his opponent dropped out due to injury.

Meanwhile, a featherweight bout between Bryce Mitchell and Jonathan Pearce was scheduled for the event, but Pearce was forced to withdraw due to an injury. Following a similar injury-induced withdrawal when the two were set to headline UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Lemos in November 2022, Movsar Evloev stepped in as his replacement.

A lightweight match between former UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush, originally scheduled as the co-main event, was expected to excite spectators. Unfortunately, Oliveira had to withdraw from the fight due to an unspecified ailment, however, the fight was rescheduled and relocated to UFC 289.

Finally, in the co-main event, former UFC Welterweight Championship challenger Gilbert Burns will face Belal Muhammad in a five-round welterweight fight.

READ MORE: UFC 288 – Everything you need to know

UFC 288 main card predictions

Aljamain Sterling (c) vs Henry Cejudo

The bout pits Sterling against his opponent, who models a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu-based style and aims to initiate grappling exchanges and pursue a relentless pace to put his opponents under threat. Cejudo, on the other hand, is regarded as an excellent wrestler who used his speed and better conditioning to win fights before retiring, though it remains to be seen whether he will suffer from ring rust this weekend against an opponent who has fought four times since his retirement. After years of practice, every fighter is capable of being a striker. Ring rust, I believe, will work against Cejudo against the more energetic and younger Sterling.

Predicted Winner: Aljamain Sterling by submission

Belal Muhammad vs Gilbert Burns

Both men are attackers who love to fight in the ascendency and control the fight with pace and pressure. Burns is the elder boxer who has also recently fought more regularly. But Muhammad’s young blood would be crucial to his success, but this bout might go anyway since Gilbert Burns is a strong opponent.

Predicted Winner: Gilbert Burns by knockout

Jessica Andrade vs Yan Xiaonan

Jessica Andrade returns to strawweight for the third time this year to fight Yan Xiaonan. In her most recent strawweight bout, she defeated Amanda Lemos through a standing arm-triangle choke in the first round. In her most recent fight, she was defeated by Erin Blanchfield at flyweight through Submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 2.

Yan was thrown off course briefly by losses to former champion Carla Esparza and Marina Rodriguez, but a majority decision victory over Mackenzie Dern in October saw her return to her former glory.

Predicted winner: Yan Xiaonan by TKO

Movsar Evloev vs Bryce Mitchell

Movsar Evloev is ranked #10 at Featherweight and has an unbeaten professional record of 16-0 (6-0 UFC). He has respectable victories against Dan Ige, Hakeem Dawodu, and Seung Woo Choi. Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell is 15-1 (5-1 UFC) and rated #11 at Featherweight. He has notable victories against Edson Barboza, Andre Fili, and Charles Rosa.

Movsar Evloev has appeared unstoppable thus far in his UFC career. Evloev has a six-fight winning run in the UFC after making his debut against Seung Woo Choi in 2019. His most recent appearance was against Dan Ige, whom he dominated with hitting and wrestling on way to a unanimous decision. When he takes against Mitchell, Evloev will be trying to extend his unbeaten streak to seventeen.

Predicted Winner: Movsar Evloev by submission

Kron Gracie vs Charles Jourdain

Kron Gracie (34) returns to the Octagon after a three-year absence to battle French-Canadian action fighter Charles Jourdain in the main event. Gracie started his MMA career with five consecutive victories, including a first-round submission victory over Alex Caceres in his UFC debut in February 2019. Later that year, he was defeated by Cub Swanson by a unanimous decision and has not competed since.

Charles Jourdain (27) began the year with a first-round submission win over Lando Vannata but finished the year with losses to Shane Burgos and Nathaniel Wood. With a 4-5-1 record in his first ten UFC bouts, the intriguing fighter has lacked the consistency needed to make it to the weekend.

While Jourdain is a much younger fighter with a greater upside and has had plenty of recent practise in the Octagon, Gracie will likely try to go back to his grappling roots to secure the victory. However, Jourdain might just pull off the knockout victory.

Predicted Winner: Charles Jourdain by KO

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