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Today in the Garden State, the UFC heads down to Newark, New Jersey to host their 288th numbered card with a fun line of fights that should see a guaranteed four-plus incredible matchups and numerous performances of the night worthy victories. The card is headlined by the bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, as he takes on the previously retired UFC legend Henry Cejudo in what should be an interesting five rounds to say the least.
Don’t get me wrong, this fight has the opportunity to be entertaining. The general storyline of the once almighty and dominating “Triple C” returning to the octagon should be enough to garner a solid number of buys for the promotion. With that being said, this fight is overrated and for one main reason. Whoever wins this fight is not holding on to the title. Whether it be “And New” or “And Still,” I won’t be expecting the man who gets interviewed by Joe Rogan after the fight to defend his belt more than once, if he even gets to that point.
When we look at Aljamain Sterling, we have to start a dialogue about his striking. It simply is not good enough to compete with the elites at 135. While he may be a fantastic grappler, his combinations, technique, and overall ability on the feet is not on the level of a champion that’ll retain their belt fight after fight. When we look at Cejudo, he’s a man of mysteries. Lay-offs are huge in fighting—especially when that lay off was supposed to be the end of your career. He’s a former flyweight entering a bigger division full of guys like Sterling who are much taller, longer, quicker and younger than he is.
Whether it be Cejudo or the man who comes after him, the Bantamweight Division could see a bunch of title changes very, very soon.
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