The old saying goes, “He who laughs last laughs best,” and there's no doubt that Aljamene Sterling is having a good laugh now.
A man who was vilified by large swaths of the fan base, especially after falling victim to an illegal knee in his title-winning attempt, showed that perhaps those who criticized him and called him the winner were classless no-no's. were nothing.
Sterling defeated one of the greatest fighters in UFC history on Saturday when he won a split decision over Henry Cejudo at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Two judges had it 48–47 for Sterling and the third had it 48–47 for Cejudo. Yahoo Sports had Sterling, 48–47.
Since winning the title via disqualification from Petr Yan in 2021, Sterling defeated Yan in a rematch, dominated TJ Dilshaw and scored his biggest win when he defeated Cejudo on Saturday. Add in a submission win against Cory Sandhagen in the fight that earned him a title shot, and it's one of his best runs in recent times.
Sterling's length gave Cejudo difficulty, and Sterling's wrestling was surprisingly effective against the 2008 Olympic gold medalist. But Sterling was at his best in the clinch.
“I wish I could do a little better, but Henry is a dog,” Sterling said of Cejudo, who came out of three-year retirement to fight him.
Sterling was able to use his range to push the pace and cause Cejudo problems. But when they reached the clinch, Sterling used knees and elbows to pick up the win.
Swelling and welds aren't on the scoring criteria, but Sterling said, “Look at his face and look at my face.” There were no obvious marks from Sterling, although Cejudo had a large bruise under his right eye.
Sean O'Malley will be Sterling's next challenger and he enters the ring. They trash-talked each other and O'Malley said, “You better look better than that. You looked like s***.
Sterling shouted, “September! Signed, delivered and sealed, baby. September.”
Lost in all of this was the fact that Cejudo took off his gloves and said he was considering making it a one-fight comeback and going back into retirement.
It didn't seem like he had the blunder he once had and which cost him on Saturday.
“I think we go back and think about it,” Cejudo said. “If I'm not first, I'm last. I'm going to talk [UFC president] Grain [White], I'm going to talk to my wife. Who knows, you might see me in this Octagon for the last time.
If so, it was a great run and he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. But for Sterling, the man ridiculed so often and so unfairly, it's only going to get bigger and better.