UFC 288: 10 Things We Learned (Extended Edition)
Detailing the results and ramifications from Saturday night's UFC pay-per-view at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ
Sterling Retains in Competitive Scrap
Aljamain Sterling is still the UFC bantamweight champion, edging out Henry Cejudo in a competitive battle to close out Saturday’s pay-per-view in Newark, New Jersey.
Sterling came out of the gates sharp, taking the fight to the returning former champion, dragging him to the canvas and taking his back in the late stages of the opening round. He continued to chip away at Cejudo’s lead leg throughout, doing quality work inside the clinch as well, working knees and punches to the body. Cejudo had positive moments of his own, but they felt fewer and farther between than those of Sterling, who was never in real trouble, and claimed 48-47 scores on two cards to retain his title.
The win sets up a showdown with Sean O’Malley for the champion, with the two engaging in a heated staredown and exchange of words inside the cage following the fight. Cejudo took off his gloves and said he was unsure what was next following the setback, and my guess is that we don’t see him back inside the Octagon again.
This wasn’t the kind of explosive contest fans were hoping for, but it was a very good effort from Sterling against a game, talented Cejudo.
Muhammad Does Muhammad Things
Belal Muhammad posted his fifth straight victory and extended his unbeaten streak to 10 with a unanimous decision win over Gilbert Burns in the UFC 288 co-main event.
Muhammad was the sharper, more effective of the two from the jump, taking the fight to Burns and stuffing the Brazilian’s first takedown attempt, which seemed to aggravate a shoulder injury for Burns. In each and every round, Muhammad worked behind constant pressure, persistent stance switches, and crisp striking to batter “Durinho” with heavy kicks, clean boxing, and weaponized conditioning.
Some are going to want to downplay the performance of Muhammad here and point to Burns’ injury as a determining factor, but that would be erroneous. Muhammad, like Burns, took this fight on short notice, and turned in a dominant performance against a world-class competitor, doing everything that was asked of him in order to secure a championship opportunity next time out.
This has been an impressive march to the top of the division for Muhammad, who has gone 13-1 with one No Contest over his last 15 appearances, building an approach and style that plays to his strengths. He had done enough to get himself a title shot prior to his victory, but there is no denying him now.
As he told me when we spoke ahead of this contest, there are no more excuses you can make — get this man his title shot.
Yan Stops Andrade, Merits Championship Opportunity
Chinese contender Yan Xiaonan scored the biggest win of her career at UFC 288, sparking Jessica Andrade in just over two minutes to put herself in the title conversation.
Yan looked sharp right out of the gate, flashing quicker, cleaner striking than her Brazilian counterpart, and when Andrade started to chase with her trademark pawing hooks, Yan backpedaled until opting to plant and fire, with the right hand that landed putting the former champion down and out. The finish was reminiscent of Stipe Miocic’s heavyweight title win over Fabricio Werdum, and at the very least, should put Yan on the short list of potential championship challengers for Zhang Weili later this year.
UFC 288 highlighted the crossroads event that the clash between Yan and Marina Rodriguez at the start of last year was, as Yan has now won two straight, while Rodriguez has suffered back-to-back losses. Additionally, it underscores the importance of remaining active, as Amanda Lemos, who stopped Rodriguez in November, doesn’t have another fight booked and might have been overtaken for pole position in the chase for the next title opportunity.
On the flip side, you have to wonder the impact of fighting three times in five months, across two weight classes has had on Andrade. After starting the year with a lopsided win over Lauren Murphy, she’s not been finished in back-to-back outings against top contenders, and might want to consider a longer break to reset after this one.
Evloev Survives, Lopes Shows He Belongs
Movsar Evloev had to work hard to maintain his unbeaten record, but the Russian featherweight extended his UFC winning streak to seven and his overall mark to 17-0 with a narrow decision win over Diego Lopes.
Originally slated to face Bryce Mitchell, Lopes tagged in at the start of the week and gave Evloev all he could handle on Saturday, landing well in the first and attacking off his back throughout. At multiple points, the former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor had Evloev in dicey spots, but each time, the unbeaten featherweight worked free and scored, doing just enough to claim the victory.
This is one of those fights where people are likely to downgrade Evloev for struggling, and sing Lopes’ praises for rising to the occasion, but I’d argue there as nothing here that changes my opinion of Evloev as a budding contender. He dealt with a dangerous threat on short notice and earned a unanimous decision win, moving to 7-0 in the UFC. He’s handled his business and keeps moving forward, hopefully into a marquee matchup with someone stationed ahead of him in the rankings.
As for Lopes, he showed he clearly belongs by diving into the deep end of the featherweight talent pool and showing he was able to swim. A more favourable pairing and a full training camp next time out — likely on the same card as training partner and flyweight champion Alexa Grasso — should provide an opportunity for the Mexico-based Brazilian to impress again.
Smart, Patient Effort from Jourdain
French-Canadian featherweight Charles Jourdain turned in his most professional, tactical performance to date, working behind his striking and staying safe on the ground to earn a unanimous decision victory over Kron Gracie to kick off the pay-per-view.
Jourdain did well to snipe at Gracie on the fight, showing urgency to circle out and escape whenever the standout grappler looked to clinch, and covering up and defending when the former BJJ world champion pulled guard. At no point was Jourdain tempted to grapple with Gracie or deviate from the game plan, looking sharp throughout to get back into the win column.
Easily the most talented and promising Canadian on the roster, Jourdain is still just 27 and showed here that he’s taken some positive steps in his tactical approach inside the Octagon. It’s never been a question of skills with the former TKO two-division champ, but rather situational recognition and decision-making. If he can continue to grow in this regard and stick to the blueprint, Jourdain could flourish and climb the featherweight ranks.
Frevola Floors Dober, Calls out Pimblett (Again)
Fighting close to home, Long Island’s Matt Frevola picked up the biggest win of his career to close out the UFC 288 prelims, dropping and stopping all-action standout Drew Dober in an entertaining back-and-forth that lasted just over four minutes.
“The Steamrolla” found success right out of the gate and ran level with Dober the whole way, stinging him at different points and taking the best the ranked lightweight had to offer. After landing a sharp Superman punch, Frevola hit Dober with a stiff jab and followed it with a beautiful right hook that landed clean on the jaw. Dober dropped, Frevola followed him to the mat, and pounded out the finish.
Now riding a three-fight winning streak with all three victories coming in the opening stanza, Frevola took full advantage of his opportunity on the mic following the win, calling out Paddy Pimblett for the second straight fight. He laid out the case perfectly, poking at Pimblett’s “pick and choose” approach to taking fights, getting a roar of support from the crowd after asking if they liked that fight.
Personally, I love the matchup, but I just don’t see it coming together — “Paddy the Baddy” doesn’t seem to want any part of someone as dangerous as Frevola, and I expect him to get another favourable matchup on the July 22 card at the O2 Arena in London instead.
Nzechukwu Keeps Improving
Dana White’s Contender Series grad Kennedy Nzechukwu is developing into an intriguing name to track in the light heavyweight division.
Saturday night, the Fortis MMA man dealt with getting rocked and weathered the follow-up onslaught from Devin Clark before immediately turning the tables and taking the fight to the powerful “Brown Bear.” From covering up to cracking Clark with a barrage of big strikes and knees along the fence to close out the first, Nzechukwu took control of the action and never let it go. When Clark dropped his head and looked to change levels in the second, Nzechukwu laced up a ninja choke, securing the hold and maintaining his squeeze until Clark slipped off to sleep.
Raw and inexperienced when he arrived in the Octagon in 2019, the towering Nigerian has shown clear and obvious development, having now registered three straight stoppage wins and victories in fie of his last seven appearances. He turns 31 in June and profiles as someone that could continue climbing the ranks in the wide open 205-pound weight class over the next 12-18 months.
Williams, Bedoya Entertain
Khaos Williams and Rolando Bedoya spent the entirety of their welterweight clash on the feet slinging shots, battering each other for 15 minutes in the most competitive and entertaining scrap of the evening to that point.
The knockout artist Williams came out looking to take the fight to the newcomer and land big early, but Bedoya was happy to engage and quick to counter, showing early on that he was more than game and not going away easily. As the fight progressed, the Peruvian debutant started to get the better of things, chopping at Williams’ lead leg and countering well, exceeding expectations and heading to the scorecards with many believing he’d done enough to garner the victory.
But two of the judges scored the fight for Williams, while the dissenting score came in 30-27 for Bedoya. This was much more of a competitive fight than many anticipated and reflected in the scores, with Williams showing he still has work to do in order to reach his full potential, and Bedoya establishing himself as someone to keep tabs on going forward.
Jandiroba Slams Rodriguez’ Window Closed
Former Invicta FC champ Virna Jandiroba picked up her second straight victory and the biggest win of her UFC career to kick off the televised prelims, defeating her countrywoman Marina Rodriguez with a grappling-heavy approach.
In each of the first two rounds, Jandiroba was able to put Rodriguez on deck without much push back, controlling the interactions and landing good shots throughout to maintain her position. While Rodriguez landed some quality shots out of the gate in the third, Jandiroba was once again able to close the distance, elevate Rodriguez, and deposit her on the floor.
Not only was this an excellent win for Jandiroba, who beat Angela Hill in her lone appearance last year and has won three of her last four, but it also slams the closed Rodriguez’ championship window. The Muay Thai stylist was on the cusp of a title shot after winning four straight following a split decision loss to two-time champ Carla Esparza, but matchmaking machinations put her in the Octagon with Amanda Lemos, resulting in a loss.
Saturday’s second straight loss likely marks the end of Rodriguez’ potential as a contender, but showed that Jandiroba is continuing to improve and merits another step up in competition next time out.
Porter Looks Great, Smith Looks Terrible (As Anticipated)
Parker Porter picked up his first UFC stoppage to close out the early prelims on Saturday, showcasing a slimmed down physique and leaning on his experience to finish Braxton Smith in just over two minutes.
A compact tank of a human being who scored five straight knockout wins on the regional circuit against marginal competition, Smith came out swinging hammers, but Porter did well to roll with the big shots, land a couple of his own, and within 90 seconds, the newcomer was gassed and looking for a way out. Porter happily went to the ground with “The Beautiful Monster” when he looked for a panic shot, climbed into mount, and pounded out the finish.
This was exactly how this fight was always going to go.
While Porter isn’t more than a mid-pack heavyweight, he’s at least someone that has put in time and effort to be at this level, having previous earned three wins inside the Octagon and proven he belongs. Smith, on the other hand, smashed a bunch of nobodies, showed very limited fundamentals, and got by simply by landing massive shots against dudes with zero defence. While I understand the intrigue surrounding the hulking heavyweight, he’s a perfect example of someone that needs tons of time in the gym, developing his skills, and competing on the regional circuit right now, not fighting at the highest level.
Introducing Ikram Aliskerov
Want to make a splash with the fickle UFC audience and get yourself in the fast lane to contention in the middleweight division? Just do what Ikram Aliskerov did on Saturday.
After weathering some early strikes from Phil Hawes, the 30-year-old Russian newcomer hit Hawes with a high kick that seemed to short-circuit his CPU, and the clean one-two that followed sat Hawes down in place. He collapsed into himself like one of those tall inflatables that bend in move in different directions when you cut the air supply off, with Aliskerov standing over him before spiking his mouthpiece into the Octagon canvas.
This was a massive knockout win for the middleweight newcomer, who is now 14-1 overall and riding a six-fight winning streak. Aliskerov fought solid competition on his way to the UFC, showed expertise finishing skills in earning his contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last season, and his only loss came against Khamzat Chimaev, who called him the toughest opponent he’s faced to date. With his age, experience, and obvious skill, there is a very real chance that Aliskerov gets hustled into a bigger matchup than most sophomores next time out.
Interested to See What Follows
Claudio Ribeiro scored a second-round stoppage win over Joseph Holmes in the UFC 288 opener on Saturday, and while it was a solid effort, what really interests me is seeing what comes next for Holmes. I know that sounds crazy right now, but hear me out:
Holmes is now 1-3 in the UFC and missed weight by several pounds ahead of Saturday’s contest. When you add it all up, that feels like a formula for being released back to the regional circuit, and between his lack of results and missing weight, that’s precisely what I expect to happen.
The reason I’m interested to see if that is how things play out is because it will tell us a little more about how the UFC views its roster and is maintaining it at the moment. There was nothing in this fight and has been very little through four efforts that suggest Holmes is capable of competing at this level, and I want to see if the UFC brass recognizes that and acts accordingly or gives him the opportunity to step into the Octagon once more.