Fight Night in New Jersey is a Long Island thing.
Aljamain Sterling set a new record for consecutive UFC bantamweight title defenses with a tight split decision victory over former 2 Division Champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 in Newark.
“It was a close match, but I definitely thought we won,” Sterling told reporters after winning.
Sterling, a two-time All-American wrestler for SUNY Cortland, and 2008 Olympic freestyle gold medalist Henry Cejudo tested each other’s grappling chops and each found success in the takedown division. However, Sterling was in a slightly more threatening position.
“I think I’m an Olympic gold medalist now,” Sterling said, proud of his four successful takedowns compared to Cejudo’s three. “I thought I could do better in the clinch”
Kicking played a big role in Sterling’s stand-up offense. As is often the case, champions train their legs and bodies.
Cejudo, who has eight knockouts on the ledger, struggled to land the big punch he was trying to set up. ”
Ultimately, Cejudo’s face was left with battle marks, especially a bruise under his right eye.
In comparison, Sterling’s face was relatively unremarkable.
“Arjo was ridiculously awkward,” Cejudo told reporters at Sterling, nicknamed “The Funkmaster.” “And if you don’t have the right person to imitate him, it’s totally different. He’s a freestyler, so it’s different.”
After the fight, top contender Sean O’Malley was brought into the octagon in a bitter and taunting showdown in front of 17,559 people at the sold-out Prudential Center.
Sterling has beaten four of the six previous UFC bantamweight champions: Cejudo, TJ Dillashaw, Petru Yang and Renan Barao.
“Good luck to anyone chasing that resume, because it’s very hard to win,” Sterling said.
Earlier in the night, Sterling’s Longo and Weidman MMA teammate Matt Frevola thrilled the Newark crowd with a first-round TKO of Drew Dover.
Mets owner Steve Cohen came to watch, Flevola pulled the hard-hitting veteran off the outside, dropped Dover with a right, and stopped him with a heavy hand on the mat.
The stunning win earned Sterling the first $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus of his UFC tenure.
“Welcome to the Top 15, baby!” Sterling proclaimed Flevola.
The biggest non-metropolitan winners were the two matches preceding the championship fight.
Belal Muhammad took the shot in a non-title five-round action to score a decisive win over Gilbert Burns and set up a potential future welterweight title.
Yan Xiaonan scores a first-round TKO of Jessica Andrade, paving the way for a potential All-China Strawweight title fight against reigning champion Zhang Weili.
