UFC 288: Aljamain Sterling relishes opportunity to “smack” Henry Cejudo in the face for Khabib-like arrogance
Aljamain Sterling is eagerly anticipating his upcoming fight against Henry Cejudo, which is set to take place in the main event of UFC 288.
The bantamweight king will be hoping to hush 'Triple C', as Sterling stated that Cejudo has been making too much noise from the sidelines since his initial retirement.
Cejudo retired from MMA in 2020, and since then has been coaching at Fight Ready Gym as well as posting MMA-related content on YouTube.
'Funk Master' stated during a recent interview with MMA Fighting that Henry Cejudo has become too critical of active fighters since his first retirement. Sterling even drew comparisons between his upcoming opponent and Khabib Nurmagomedov. The champion feels that the Russian great also became far more vocal about other fighters following his retirement in 2020.
Sterling said:
"I’m not trying to fake anything [but] the guy talks a lot. Sat on the sidelines and talked so much s*** and criticized everybody. No disrespect but it’s almost like what Khabib [Nurmagomedov] did. When Khabib retired, he started to become a lot more vocal and it wasn’t vocal in a very humble or respectful way. I feel like and I don’t know if he did that intentionally or he didn’t realize the way it was coming off. Henry’s doing that but I think it’s very intentional and deliberate and someone needs to smack him in the face."
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Aljamain Sterling shares his ideal career path ahead of retirement
Aljamain Sterling is set to take on Henry Cejudo in the main event of UFC 288 next weekend. 'Funk Master' is heading into the bout brimming with confidence and could make UFC bantamweight history by becoming the first champion to defend the title three times.
Sterling has dominated the division since 2021 when he defeated Petr Yan at UFC 259 to become the champion.
Ahead of his title fight against Cejudo, Aljamain Sterling sat down with ESPN MMA's Megan Olivi to discuss what lies ahead for him and went into detail about how his ideal career path would unfold:
"The perfect scenario [is] I smash Henry [Cejudo], I smash [Sean] O'Malley, I go up to 145 [pounds] and fight [Alexander] Volkanovski or [Yair] Rodriguez. Maybe I defend the belt one time and then I'm done. I think that's the perfect scenario, 'cause at that point what else do I have to prove?"
Watch the interview below from 17:25: