UFC 288 cold open hypes Henry Cejudo return, Aljamain Sterling’s quest for ‘gold medal for whooping that a**’

Aljamain Sterling looks to spoil the return of former two-division champion Henry Cejudo on Saturday in the main event of the UFC 288.

In the cold open of UFC 288, actor and regular UFC pay-per-view narrator Ron Perlman sets the scene for the bantamweight championship headliner between Sterling, who is dubbed a fighter with “the swagger of a generational talent.” Cejudo, meanwhile, is called the “gold standard” before his retirement following his UFC 249 in a title defense against Dominick Cruz in May 2020.

Sterling looks to defend his title for the third time, while Cejudo hopes to reclaim the gold he never lost before his three-year hiatus from the sport.

Also on tap for the ESPN+ pay-per-view is a short notice welterweight co-main event between one-time title challenger Gilbert Burns and surging contender Belal Muhammad. The pivotal 170-pound matchup is scheduled for five rounds.

You can watch the full cold open for UFC 288 in the video above, which was released by the UFC on Friday.