UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is confident that he’ll beat Henry Cejudo wherever the fight goes.
Sterling (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) announced that he will defend his title against Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) on May 6, which is expected to be UFC 288. Sterling is going up against a former UFC dual champion and Olympic gold medalist wrestler in Cejudo, but “The Funkmaster” is confident in his own grappling.
“I’m fighting May 6 against Henry Cejudo,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I’m looking forward to the challenge. Again, I think Henry is a very tough dude, very accomplished in the wrestling world, I think also in the MMA world.”
“I think the wrestling might cancel each other out – might. We will see if I’m actually able to rag-doll him. We’re gonna figure out in the first 5 minutes and from there, we’ll figure out if we want to waste a ton of energy grappling, or do we want to put these (hands) to the test and show the world what high-level grapplers can do when it comes to striking?”
Sterling previously admitted that a fight against Cejudo didn’t move him, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t view him as a big challenge. Sterling is coming off a dominant TKO win over former champ T.J. Dillashaw and urges people to stop underestimating him.
“I don’t give a sh*t about the cringe and all that,” Sterling said. “I’m taking you very, very seriously, and I cannot wait to put my shin across your head and show you that you’re good, but you are just not on my level. … I know you are good in the grappling, clinch work and things like that. You can say whatever you want to say (about) my wrestling and talk about my striking and all this.”
He continued, “I think my range is gonna be a problem. I think you’re tough, I think you’re durable, you showed that in the Marlon Moraes fight, but I just think I have more ways to win, and I think that’s going to be the difference in this fight.”
