Henry Cejudo suggests retirement after loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288

Henry Cejudo suggested he could retire after falling short in his bid to reclaim the UFC bantamweight title from Aljamain Sterling.

‘The Funk Master’ did enough to impress two of the three cageside judges, who put the fight 48-47 in his favor, while the third equaled Cejudo after five rounds at UFC 288.

‘Triple C’ removed his gloves in a move that usually signifies a fighter’s resignation before dancing around the issue during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

Before that, top 135-pound contender Sean O’Malley climbed into the octagon and battled Sterling in a fiery duel that threatened to boil over when a member of the Champions team stole his jacket.

Luckily, UFC security kept things under wraps and everyone’s attention quickly turned back to the magnificent match between two top contenders.

Cejudo showed his grappling skills early on as he got the champion on the ground – but he couldn’t keep him there for long.

As the fight returned to his feet, Cejudo seemed to struggle with the range discrepancy before Sterling showed he can take it on in wrestling exchanges with a takedown of his own.

‘The Funkmaster’ became only the second fighter to defeat Cejudo in the UFC and in the end he secured his opponent’s back and ended the first round in a seriously dominant position.

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Cejudo got off to a good start in round two with his punch, but Sterling quickly worked things back up with a series of punches and kicks from long range.

Both men mostly stayed away from grappling, but the 135-pound king mixed in a couple of lazy takedown attempts that ended the five-minute frame on the floor.

‘Triple C’ started round three with a flying knee that landed flush on Sterling’s face, forcing him into a desperate takedown attempt that was easily countered.

Cejudo was able to deal with his opponent’s wrestling attacks on the open mat, but the Jamaican-American had some hits against the fence despite failing to get his man down.

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Sterling grew tired with each takedown attempt, but other than a short takedown, Cejudo struggled to take advantage of it.

Early in the fourth round, Sterling rocketed the lead when he landed a couple of leg kicks with no response, but Cejudo chased him around the octagon looking for a big punch.

It was a tight round but ended with Sterling securing his fourth takedown of the fight before unleashing a barrage of punches as his rival got back to his feet.

With the UFC 288 title fight at stake, neither really picked up the pace early in the fifth round, but things caught fire when both hit with big punches at halftime.

Cejudo landed some good knees in the clinch before knocking Sterling down and ending the fight with a strong grappling position on the fence.

Despite suffering a loss in his first fight in three years, Cejudo appears to still have a lot to offer and could come back if he decides to continue competing at 36.