UFC 288 is officially headed to the Garden State.
On Tuesday, UFC officials announced the May 6 pay-per-view event will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., the first time the promotion has held an event at that venue since an August 2019 card headlined by Colby Covington and Robbie Lawler.
The targeted title fight between Aljamain Sterling (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) and Henry Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) was not among the fights including in the UFC’s announcement.
A potential UFC lightweight title eliminator between former champion Charles Oliveira (33-9 MMA, 21-9 UFC) and Beneil Dariush (22-4-1 MMA, 16-4 UFC) was made official.
Two fights included in the announcement had not previously been released.
Jiu-jitsu ace Kron Gracie (5-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) returns from a three-year layoff to take on Charles Jourdain (13-6-1 MMA, 4-5-1 UFC). Gracie has largely remained off the grid since an October 2019 loss to Cub Swanson. It was the first defeat of his pro MMA career. Jourdain will look to snap a two-fight skid.
Additionally, flyweights Nate Maness (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and Zhalgas Zhumagulov (14-8 MMA, 1-5 UFC) will square off.
The updated UFC 288 lineup includes
- Champion Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo – for bantamweight title
- Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush
- Bryce Mitchell vs. Jonathan Pearce
- Jessica Andrade vs. Yan Xiaonan
- Charles Jourdain vs. Kron Gracie
- Marina Rodriguez vs. Virna Jandiroba
- Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Devin Clark
- Andre Petroski vs. Armen Petrosyan
- Nate Maness vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
- Khaos Williams vs. Rolando Bedoya
- Daniel Santos vs. Johnny Munoz
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.
