UFC 288 Sterling vs Cejudo went down Saturday night at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. “The Funkmaster” Aljamain Sterling defended his bantamweight title with a split decision win over combat sports legend Henry Cejudo, the Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Gold Medalist and former UFC Flyweight and Bantamweight champion. Not to be outdone last night was China’s Yan Xiaonan, whose MMA stardom reached a new level with her outstanding knockout of former UFC Strawweight champion Jessica Andrade.
Aljamain Sterling Defends Belt With Split Decision Win Over Henry Cejudo
Aljamain Sterling has solidified his grip on the bantamweight division with a close, split decision victory over former champion Henry Cejudo. One judge scored the bout for Cejudo 48-47, with the other two favoring Sterling by the same score. While the bout was close, Seattle Fights thought Sterling rated the edge based on a much larger volume of strikes landing, in addition to damage done. After the fight, Cejudo’s face was swollen and well-marked while Sterling didn’t appear to be wearing any damage.
The fight was back-and-forth but neither fighter was ever close to finish. Cejudo seemed to have problems with Sterling’s length as The Funkmaster had a seven-inch reach advantage to go along with three inches in height.
After the fight, the UFC set up Sterling’s next title defense by bringing into the cage “Suga” Sean O’Malley for a bit of a ridiculous faceoff. The affair turned even more wild when Merab Dvalishvili took off O’Malley’s fancy leather jacket. O’Malley, who for some reason wasn’t wearing a shirt under his jacket, could pose problems for Sterling with his length and slick striking. Presumably, that fight will be Sterling’s last at 135 pounds before an expected move to featherweight.
Belal Muhammad Secures Title Shot With Unanimous Decision Over Gilbert Burns
Unfortunately Gilbert “Durinho” hurt his left hand during a takedown attempt early in this bout that largely rendered his left hand useless for the remainder of his fight with Belal Muhammad. But the way Muhammad had it all working on this night it would have been tough for Burns to win regardless. Muhammad, who was constantly changing stances early in this fight, battered Burns with heavy kicks to the body early and often throughout this fight. Burns’ right arm had turned dark red early in the fight from blocking the punishing kicks. Muhammad continued his pressure striking throughout the fight in a solid performance.
Yan Xiaonan Impresses With Incredible Knockout of Jessica Andrade
China has a new UFC star in Yan Xiaonan as the very likable Team Alpha Male fighter may have set up a mega fight with current Chinese UFC Strawweight Queen Zhang Weili as she dispatched Jessica Andrade with a cracking overhand right that knocked the former UFC Strawweight champion out cold.
Xiaonan and Andrade both started the bout throwing heavy shots in an impressive display of womens’ power striking. With Andrade getting more aggressive midway through the round and charging forward, Xiaonan who had been backing up, quickly set her feet and let loose the right hand that sent Andrade crashing unconscious to the canvas.
Xiaonan, despite not speaking English, seems a highly marketable fighter for the UFC considering her fighting style and infectious enthusiasm. Hopefully the UFC sets up a title fight with Weili which would surely be a massive fight of the highest level.
Movsar Evloev Survives Dangerous Short Notice Opponent Diego Lopes
Movsar Evloev improved his undefeated record to 17-0 (UFC record 7-0, all by decision) but was put into serious danger multiple times by UFC newcomer Diego Lopes. Lopes, who is UFC Flyweight Queen Alexa Grasso’s primary grappling coach, was a short notice replacement for Bryce Mitchell and took the fight on five days notice.
Lopes looked like he belonged with the MMA world leader as he got off to a fast start landing hard leg kicks and a straight right hand in the opening moments of the bout. Shortly thereafter, Evloev pressured and briefly looked for a takedown and with Lopes up against the fence he fired a hard right hand that rocked Evloev and had the Russian backing up. Evloev then caught a leg kick and converted it into a takedown and Lopes immediately showed off his jiu-jitsu skills by attacking a leg lock immediately, putting Evloev on the defensive. Evloev defended well but Lopes repeatedly attacked submission attempts off of his back and even landed some effective punches and elbows from bottom position.
Evloev landed some solid left punches and hammer fists while in Lopes’ guard before Lopes slickly trapped Evoloev’s right arm and rolled for an armbar that was deep and had Evloev in a world of trouble. Evloev was able to escape fairly quickly, however. Evloev was then able to get off a bit of ground and pound, including a hard right hand, as the round came to a close, but just before the bell Lopes put Evloev in a tight triangle would have had the Russian in big trouble if not for the round ending.
The second round was a big round for Evloev as he started to have success with his striking. Lopes slew down significantly in the second round and began swinging heavy shots that mostly missed their mark. Midway through the round Evloev converted a double leg takedown along the fence and landed some heavy ground and pound late in the round.
The final round was a fun round as Lopes once more threatened with his dangerous submission game.
The fighters traded big shots early in the round, with Evloev rating a slight edge in the striking. With the fight going to the clinch along the fence, Evloev landed a hard elbow before dumping Lopes on the mat with an easy double leg takedown. Lopes was quickly back to the feet, but Evloev controlled from behind with a rear waistlock, attacking the Brazilian’s legs with knees and kicks. Late in the round, Lopes escaped the position by attacking a kimura that was tight and forced Evloev to the ground. With Lopes cranking on the kimura, Evloev was forced to flip over onto his back. Evloev was able to escape out the bottom. With Evloev back to the rear waistlock hold, Lopes once more attacked a kimura which he used to transition to a kneebar attempt. The round finished with Lopes furiously extending his body to try and finish the submission. But Evloev, wincing in pain, was able to ride out the attempt until the horn.
The judges scored this “Fight of the Night” for Evloev 29-28, 29-28, 30-27.
Charles Jourdain Dominates Kron Gracie In Decision Win
In the first round, the difference in striking skills was on display immediately as Charles Jourdain landed straight punches and combinations. Gracie, the son of BJJ legend Rickson Gracie, plodded forward repeatedly trying to engage in the clinch in order to try and ultimately take the fight to the ground where he could work his submission game. Jourdain defended Gracie’s attempts well and landed big shots, including several hard uppercuts. Gracie’s best chance in this gith came midway through the opening round when he pulled guard, prior to having taken too much striking damage. Jourdain however remained patient and wary on the ground, stymying Gracie who didn’t get off any submission attempts prior to Jourdain standing up to escape Gracie’s guard and reset the fight on the feet.
In Round 2, Gracie once more pulled guard, this time early in the round, but once more was unable to threaten Jourdain with submission, instead eating some ground and pound. After a couple minutes on the ground, Jourdain escaped Gracie’s guard and punished the BJJ star some more on the feet as Gracie looked exhausted and was wearing the damage on his face.
The third round was more of the same, with Jourdain punishing Gracie on the feet before Gracie pulled guard and once more was unable to effectively play the jiu-jitsu game in an MMA fight. Jourdain took the unanimous decision 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards.