Aljamain Sterling Defends Bantamweight Title Against Henry Cejudo at UFC 288

• Aljamain Sterling defended his Bantamweight title with a split decision win over Henry Cejudo
• Cejudo, a former Bantamweight champion, was looking to return to the top of the division
• Suga Sean O'Malley is next in line to try and dethrone Sterling as Bantamweight champion

There was no love lost between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo coming into their main event fight at UFC 288.

The two Bantamweights had some bad blood between them and settled if for the title in New Jersey.

Cejudo, a former two-division champion, started the fight strong, looking to lock in a submission in the first round. Sterling found his range toward the end of the round and landed some shots of his own.

The second round saw both fighters trade shots, with neither really landing anything too devastating. Cejudo once again went for the submission game at the end of the round, targeting The Funkmaster's neck. Sterling had surgery on his neck before and Cejudo was not afraid to target it.

Gervonta 'Tank' Davis remains undefeated after beating Ryan Garcia with brutal body shot

Boxing

The third round was another hotly contested round as both men attempted submission moves. The champion tried to take Cejudo's back while the challenger looked to target the neck again.

A tough battle

The fourth round again was a tough battle as neither man wanted to give their opponent the edge. They both landed shots while Cejudo tried to use his wrestling game to secure an advantage. Aljo showed impressive strength to keep the fight standing.

As the round wore on, Cejudo managed to take Sterling down but The Funkmaster managed to reverse the hold and take the Olympic gold medalist down.

The fifth and final round

With the fight too close to call going into the fifth and final round, both fighters knew they had to leave it all on the line. Cejudo produced constant pressure in search of gold as Sterling managed the range and landed some good kicks and punches.

Weghorst's 'black magic' helps United qualify for FA Cup final

Football

With less than a minute to do, Cejudo grabbed a kick and drove the champion back, taking him to the ground and taking his back.

Sterling managed to get to his feet again as the both landed shots toward the end to try and win it. The fight had to be decided on the judges' scorecards and they gave it to Sterling by split decision.

Suga Sean vs Sterling

The decision didn't sit well with the crowd who booed the champion as he spoke during his post-fight chat with Joe Rogan. They continued to boo him after his interaction with the number-one contender, Suga Sean O'Malley, as Sterling showed little respect to his next challenger.

The duo had to be separated as things got heated, especially when Sterling's teammate stole O'Malley's jacket.

UFC  288: Sterling vs Cejudo

Sports Brief previously reported how excitement was building for one of the year's biggest fights at UFC 288.

Man City outclass Arsenal to take control of Premier League title race

Football

In the main event, Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo lock horns for the UFC Bantamweight Championship.

The rest of the card is stacked as well with entertaining bouts.