Henry Cejudo’s pre-fight warning to Herb Dean for tactic Aljamain Sterling might use came true at UFC 288
One of Henry Cejudo's predictions for his fight against Aljamain Sterling came true at UFC 288.
In the locker room prior to the fight, Cejudo engaged in a conversation with Herb Dean, who performed the referee duties for the UFC 288 main event title fight. 'The Messenger' told Dean that Sterling might use the tactic of staying grounded on purpose to make the opponent hesitant in engaging with him.
"I think the biggest thing that they'll be seeing him kind of taunt the line a little bit, kind of being in a three-point position," said Henry Cejudo.
Dean replied by discussed the rules regarding a grounded opponent and said that he would go over the concerned rules with 'Funk Master' too.
You can watch the video of the interaction below:
Cejudo's warning came true on fight night as on multiple occasions, Sterling kept all four of his limbs on the ground in order to avoid the attacks from Cejudo.
@MainEventSy Uncanny. https://t.co/9s6oHDLypu
After a three-year layoff, Cejudo returned to fighting at UFC 288 and locked horns with Sterling for the bantamweight title on April 6. The fight was a razor-close affair with both fighters having impressive moments in the contest.
In the end, 'Funk Master' successfully defended the belt by edging out a split decision victory. The three judges scored the contest 47-48, 48-47 and 48-47 in favor os Sterling.
Aljamain Sterling's tactic against Henry Cejudo starts a debate on social media
Bantamweight king Aljamain Sterling's actions against Henry Cejudo in the UFC 288 main event started a debate on social media. Many MMA fans took to Twitter opine whether the rule of 'No knees to a grounded opponent' should be removed.
One Twitter user called the rule 'illogical' and claimed it could prove to be a hindrance for the UFC.
"This 'grounded' knee/hand down rule is COMPLETELY illogical on all aspects of combat & isn't realistic by any means, it's ruining UFC. Can't count on one hand how many times Henry could have blasted his knee to [Sterling's] temple...Asia's MMA rules are superior in every way."
This "grounded" knee/hand down rule is COMPLETELY illogical on all aspects of combat & isn't realistic by any means , it's ruining UFC.
Can't count on one hand how many times Henry could have blasted his knee to aljos temple...Asia's MMA rules are superior in every way. https://t.co/S6hRmp65gB
Another user advocated for it to be legal to land knees on a grounded opponent.
@AlexioBrowny Personally i think the only strikes to a down opponent that should be banned are soccer kicks & stomps to the head. Knees should be 100% legal no matter the position. Current rules heavily favor wrestlers. Knees and kicks would even the playing field but kicks are too dangerous
A few more tweets on the issue can be seen below:
@AlexioBrowny Yeah aljo became very comfortable in that position. Rules are there to protect fighters which I get but I like ONE’s rules when it comes to kneeing ground opponents
@AlexioBrowny This rule should be changed ASAP. This has become a signature move for Sterling.
@AlexioBrowny @duel_mma Hilarious how Matt Serra laughed at Rich Franklin for telling him to touch the canvas with a knee and a hand so he couldn’t be kicked way back in TUF 4, little did we know he uses that exact coaching advise for Aljo every fight.
@AlexioBrowny Being able to knee grounded opponents would do some much for strikers, especially those that have a good sprawl.