Sterling vs Cejudo

Who won Sterling vs Cejudo?

Aljamain Sterling beat Henry Cejudo by split decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of UFC 288, on Saturday 6th May 2023 at Prudential Center in Newark.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Aljamain Sterling.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Bantamweight championship.

Sterling vs Cejudo stats

Aljamain Sterling stepped into the octagon with a record of 22 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 8 by submission.

Henry Cejudo made his way to the cage with a record of 16 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 8 of those wins coming by knock out.

This was Aljamain Sterling's 21st fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2014.

Aljamain Sterling's UFC record stood at 16-5-0, while Henry Cejudo's came in at 10-4-0.

The stats suggested Cejudo had a massive power advantage over Sterling, boasting a 50% knock out percentage over Sterling's 14%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Sterling had a massive advantage over Cejudo, boasting a 36% submission rate over Cejudo's 0%.

Aljamain Sterling was the younger man by 2 years, at 35 years old.

Sterling had a height advantage of 3 inches over Cejudo. That also extended to a 4-inch reach advantage.

Sterling was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 7 more fights, and made his debut in 2011, 13 years and 7 months later than Cejudo, whose first professional fight was in . He had fought 29 more professional rounds, 79 to Cejudo's 50.

Sterling vs Cejudo form

Sterling had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Movsar Evloev at UFC 310 on 7th December 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 on 13th April 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 on 19th August 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Bantamweight championship fight at TD Garden, Boston.

Before that, he had beaten Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 on 6th May 2023 by split decision in their UFC Bantamweight championship fight at Prudential Center, Newark.

He had defeated T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280 on 22nd October 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Bantamweight championship fight at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Cejudo had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 3opponents and going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he was victorious against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 on 9th May 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Bantamweight championship fight at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 on 8th June 2019 by knockout in the 3rd round in their UFC Bantamweight championship fight at United Center, Chicago.

Going into that contest, he had beaten T.J. Dillashaw at UFC on ESPN+ 1 on 19th January 2019 by knockout in the 1st round in their UFC Flyweight championship fight at Barclays Center, Brooklyn.

Before that, he had defeated Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227 on 4th August 2018 by split decision in their UFC Flyweight championship fight at Staples Center, Los Angeles.

He was victorious against Sergio Pettis at UFC 218 on 2nd December 2017 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Aljamain Sterling had been fighting more than Henry Cejudo.

Going to this contest, Aljamain Sterling had last fought 14 days ago, while Henry Cejudo's last outing had been 4 years, 7 months and 12 days ago.

Sterling's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 1 month and 29 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

Cejudo's last 5 fights had come over a period of 7 years and 19 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 4 months and 30 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Sterling vs Cejudo?

Aljamain Sterling was a 1/1 (+100) underdog going into the contest, while Henry Cejudo made his way into the ring at 83/100 (-120) with oddsmakers.