UFC 288 takeaways: Put some respect on Aljamain Sterling’s name, Belal

Brett Okamoto and Marc Raimondi react to the biggest moments at UFC 288 and offer thoughts on what might be ahead for the standouts in Miami.

Okamoto: Keep dismissing Aljamain Sterling at your own peril

It really is just time to appreciate Aljamain Sterling.

It seems like such a cliché, after watching him defend his title against a challenger in Henry Cejudo, who was favored to beat him at UFC 288 — but it needs to be said. This guy just beat a former Olympic gold medalist wrestler and double champion, and was still booed at home when the scorecards were read. Enough is enough, already.

If we’re just being honest, Sterling has been public enemy No. 1 since he became the first fighter in UFC history to win a championship via disqualification. He was losing to Petr Yan in 2020, when Yan threw one of the most ill-advised illegal knees in the sport’s history to earn a disqualification loss.

The thing is, Sterling acknowledged that he was losing. He gave a valid excuse for why he didn’t look good that night (mistakes in his post-weigh-in nutrition) and looked much better in the rematch. But that notorious start to his title campaign continues to follow him. The New Jersey crowd appeared to be pro-Cejudo on Saturday, despite Sterling growing up and attending college nearby. In his opening comments after the fight, he said, “I wish I could have done a little better.”

Nah, Aljo. You did just fine. You clearly won (in this writer’s opinion) three of five rounds against a hungry challenger in Cejudo, who walked away from the sport three years ago as a top pound-for-pound talent. And even though he’d been gone for three years, Cejudo looked in shape, hungry and as motivated as ever.

We talk about this occasionally with seemingly “unpopular” champions, and Sterling is a terrific example: Do not sleep on what this man…