UFC 288 facts and numbers: Henry Cejudo's return, Belal Muhammad's undefeated streak, and more
This weekend sees the UFC head to New Jersey for UFC 288: Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo. The main card will air on pay-per-view, with the preliminary card taking place on ESPN and ESPN+.
UFC 288’s headline bout will feature a bantamweight title bout between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo. The co-main event is a hastily booked welterweight clash between Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns.
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Check out some of the key numbers and facts about this event below.
UFC 288
This weekend’s event will mark the UFC’s first trip to Newark, New Jersey since UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Lawler back in August 2019. It will be their ninth visit to Newark overall, with the first coming back in November 2007.
UFC 288 has seen a number of injury withdrawals. The event lost its co-headliner when Charles Oliveira was forced out of his bout with Beneil Dariush in April, while three other fighters have also been removed from the card.
UFC 288 will feature five fighters making their octagon debut. These include two graduates of Dana White’s Contender Series, and Diego Lopes, who will face Movsar Evloev on late notice on the main card.
Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo
Aljamain Sterling is the only champion in the history of the UFC to win his title via disqualification, claiming the gold from Petr Yan in 2021.
Sterling is currently riding an eight-fight win streak, tying him with his teammate Merab Dvalishvili for the longest active winning run in the bantamweight division.
A win here would make Sterling the only undisputed UFC bantamweight champion to successfully defend his title on more than two occasions.
Henry Cejudo is one of just four fighters to simultaneously hold UFC titles in two different weight classes, the others being Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes and Daniel Cormier.
Cejudo is the only fighter in MMA history to have won an Olympic gold medal and a UFC championship.
Cejudo has not fought since May 9, 2020, making his layoff of nearly three years the longest of his MMA career.
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Both Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo have only been finished once during their MMA careers; Sterling was knocked out by Marlon Moraes in 2017, while Cejudo was TKO’d by Demetrious Johnson a year earlier.
Belal Muhammad vs. Gilbert Burns
Belal Muhammad’s nine-fight unbeaten streak is the second-longest active streak in the UFC welterweight division behind champion Leon Edwards.
Belal can do it ALL 👊
@BullyB170 bringing these hands to #UFC288 on Saturday!
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This weekend will be just the third time Muhammad has been scheduled for a five-round bout in the UFC, following his fights with Edwards and Vicente Luque.
Muhammad has only been taken down three times in his 17-fight UFC career, and boasts a 92% takedown defense rate.
Gilbert Burns fought Jorge Masvidal on April 8, making the 28-day turnaround between that bout and this weekend’s one with Muhammad the shortest in his MMA career.
Burns will be fighting for the third time in 2023, but he won’t be the first fighter to achieve this, as Charles Johnson has already stepped into the octagon three times too.
Since his return to welterweight in 2019, Burns has won seven of his nine fights, but has only scored two finishes.
Jessica Andrade vs. Yan Xiaonan
UFC 288 will mark Jessica Andrade’s 24th UFC bout, the most by any female fighter in the promotion’s history. She debuted all the way back in 2013.
Andrade’s reign as UFC strawweight champion lasted just 112 days, making it the third-shortest reign of any female UFC titleholder in the promotion behind Holly Holm and Carla Esparza.
Andrade is the only female fighter to secure finishes in three different weight classes in the UFC – strawweight, flyweight and bantamweight.
: @ufcJéssica Andrade finishes Amanda Lemos with a standing arm triangle!
🎥: @ufc
https://t.co/Kq0mpKjZ8m
Yan Xiaonan is still hunting for her first finish in the UFC. Despite holding an impressive 7-2 record, all of her victories have gone the distance.
Xiaonan may secure a strawweight title fight with a win at UFC 288. If she does face Weili Zhang for the title, it would mark the first UFC title bout between two Chinese fighters.