Henry Cejudo will get a championship opportunity in his return to the octagon from retirement when he challenges Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title this spring.
Sterling on Monday said on his “Weekly Scrap” podcast (H/T Twitter user Nic Ouanga) that the fight will take place May 6, though he did not say where the bout will take place. If the fight is part of a pay-per-view, as expected, it likely would be UFC 288.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed it’s targeted to MMA Junkie, with contracts expected to be issued and signed soon. The people asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announced.
Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), a former two-division UFC champion who walked away from the sport in May 2020 with the 135-pound belt in his possession, is set to make his highly anticipated comeback against Sterling (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC).
Cejudo, 35, has teased a return to competition for the past few years, but it only became a reality in the latter portion of 2022 when he re-entered the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool. After retiring as champ following his knockout win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249, Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, has transitioned into a coaching role with notable success.
He’ll attempt to regain the title he never lost in the cage against Sterling, 33, who will try for a third consecutive title defense during this reign. After he won the belt by disqualification against Petr Yan in March 2021, Sterling has racked up wins over Yan in a rematch and, most recently, T.J. Dillashaw.
