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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
MMA Junkie Staff

UFC 288 ‘Embedded,’ No. 1: Aljamain Sterling riles up the hometown fans before title defense

The UFC is back with its sixth pay-per-view of the year, which means the popular “Embedded” fight-week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.

UFC 288 takes place Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.

In the main event, bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) takes on former two-division champion Henry Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who is returning after a retirement of nearly three years.

In the co-feature, Gilbert Burns (22-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) fights for the third time so far in 2023 and second time in a month when he takes on Belal Muhammad (22-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in a key welterweight bout. Plus, former women’s strawweight champ Jessica Andrade (24-10 MMA, 15-8 UFC) meets Yan Xiaonan (16-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC).

The first episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:

Champ Aljamain Sterling shows out for his hometown fans. Henry Cejudo trains with his team; Gilbert Burns stays close to home. Belal Muhammad pushes with another Chi-town title hopeful. Bryce Mitchell embraces retro recovery techniques.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.

 

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