Aljamain Sterling could enter the conversation of greatest bantamweight of all time with a win at UFC 288.
Bantamweight champion Sterling (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) will look to notch his third title defense when he meets Henry Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 288 headliner at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
Sterling already holds wins over former champions Petr Yan and T.J. Dillashaw, as well as top contender Cory Sandhagen. So if he adds former UFC dual-champion Cejudo to his resume, where does that place him?
“In my eyes, I still look at Dominick Cruz as that guy if we’re just talking straight-up stats as a champ. But I get this done, I think it’s going to be a tough debate,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel.
Cruz holds seven title wins throughout both his WEC and UFC tenures. With a win over Cejudo, Sterling could surpass both Cruz and Dillashaw for most title defenses in UFC bantamweight history at three.
“Whether you want to consider the modern-day MMA more valid than the older days, but you know, stats are stats,” Sterling said. “Records are meant to be broken, and we will see what happens after this. I’ll let the fans decide on that. For me, I’m comfortable in my own skin, so whether I’m first or second, life is good. Just to be a part of that conversation is a blessing.”
Sterling ran into his opponent Cejudo at the UFC host hotel in what was a cordial, but intense exchange.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.
