Henry Cejudo said he tried to climb Mount Everest, and took little solace that he nearly reached the summit. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist ended a three-year retirement from the UFC with a near-miss. He dropped a split decision to bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in the main event Saturday of UFC 288 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
It was a fight that could have gone all the way, with all three judges scoring it 3-2 in rounds. Mike Bell had it 48-47 for Cejudo, giving the one-time flyweight and bantamweight champion Rounds 2, 3 and 5. But he was overruled by judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon, who each scored it 48-47 for Sterling. Cleary gave Sterling Rounds 1, 4 and 5 and Colon gave him Rounds 1, 2 and 4. Yahoo Sports had it 48-47 for Sterling.
Cejudo expects a lot of himself and, as a result, is often harsh on others. But when he mulled over the question, he gave a surprising answer.That's open for debate, but Sterling's record, particularly recently, is not. In his last five fights, he's beaten three former champions, downing Petr Yan twice, T.J. Dillashaw and Cejudo. He also submitted Cory Sandhagen in the first round and Sandhagen is ranked at this point at No. 3 in the bantamweight division.
It was the kind of fight where the most minute errors were magnified. Cejudo isn't sure what the future holds for him. UFC president Dana White praised him for his effort after the long layoff, but said he believes in ring rust and it's hard to overcome such long layoffs. He seemed to be leaning toward it, though, when reporters pressed him about various potential fights and he talked about the UFC showing him the money.
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