Aljamain Sterling vs Henry Cejudo: UFC 288 Prediction, Odds

These two bantamweight fighters will conclude what promises to be a memorable night at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. Henry Cejudo is currently perched as the -130 favourite, whereas Aljamain Sterling lags at +100 on the MMA odds.

Henry Cejudo -145
Aljamain Sterling +100

Aljamain Sterling UFC 288 Odds

The 33-year-old Sterling, from New York, is the UFC’s bantamweight champion and ranks No. 6 pound-for-pound male fighter. He is 22-3 in a career dating to 2011 and is a former Cage Fury Fighting Championships bantamweight king as well.

Sterling won the UFC title in 2021 in his first shot at it, beating Petr Yan by disqualification due to an intentional illegal knee in the fourth round, becoming the first fighter in UFC history to win a championship by disqualification. Yan got his rematch at UFC 273 in April 2022 and lost by split decision. Sterling was last in the Octagon in October and beat ex-champ TJ Dillashaw by second-round TKO (punches). Dillashaw separated his shoulder in Round 1.

Sterling’s eight-fight UFC winning streak in bantamweight competition is tied with Merab Dvalishvili for the longest active streak in the division. Sterling’s 13 victories in the division are tied with Dillashaw for most in history.

The 5-foot-7 Sterling has a reach of 71 inches and his fights average 12:56. He lands 4.70 significant strikes per minute with 51 per cent accuracy and absorbs 2.18 with 61 per cent defence. His takedown average is 1.98 per 15 minutes with 24 per cent accuracy, and his takedown defence is 41 per cent.

Ten of Sterling’s wins are via the judges, eight by submission and three by KO/TKO. His four submission victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history. Two of Sterling’s three losses are by decision.

For Saturday, his favoured method of victory is by decision at +275, followed by submission at +360, TKO/KO/DQ at +700 and draw at +6600.

Henry Cejudo UFC 288 Odds

Not many top athletes are able to retire for good on top – former Denver Broncos QB John Elway notably did after a second straight Super Bowl title. Michael Jordan should have stayed retired after winning a sixth title with the Bulls but came back with Washington.

Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling for Team USA in the 2008 Games, retired on top three years ago but couldn’t stay away. The 36-year-old Phoenix native is 16-2 in a career dating to 2013 and unranked in the bantamweight division because he has been away so long – he originally called it quits on May 9, 2020, but announced a return in April 2022.

“The Messenger” is a rare former two-division champion as he beat Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight title in August 2018 and successfully defended it against TJ Dillashaw in January 2019 before moving to bantamweight and winning the title in his first fight there over Marlon Moraes by third-round TKO (punches) in June 2019. Cejudo defended it with a second-round TKO (knee and punches) of Dominick Cruz in May 2020 and then called it quits.

Cejudo was one of four simultaneous two-division champions in UFC history along with Connor McGregor, Amanda Nunes and Daniel Cormier. Cejudo is the only MMA fighter to win an Olympic gold medal and a UFC championship.He is 7-0 in bantamweight competition during his career and has landed at least one takedown in all but one of his UFC fights where he’s attempted a takedown.

The 5-foot-4 Cejudo has a reach of 64 inches and his fights average 12:23. He lands 3.92 significant strikers per minute with 45 per cent accuracy and absorbs 2.77 with 65 per cent defence. He averages 2.12 takedown average per 15 minutes with 33 per cent accuracy, and his takedown defence is 93 per cent. Cejudo has eight wins by KO/TKO and eight by decision, with one loss by each.

For Saturday, his favoured method of victory is by decision at +225, followed by KO/TKO/DQ at +300 and submission +2000. The over-under is 4.5 rounds with the over a -160 favourite. That it goes the distance is -140 with no +100.