UFC 288 fight card: Who’s stepping into the Octagon tonight?

UFC 288 is happening tonight in Newark, New Jersey. The headliner is a UFC Bantamweight Championship contest between reigning champ Aljamain Sterling and former two-division champion Henry Cejudo, who is coming out of retirement and doing his first ring walk in nearly three years. MMA fans can look forward to a long night of action, and as is typical for UFC PPV events, there are three fight cards scheduled for tonight. We’ve got the full UFC 288 fight card lineup, as well as more details about the main event, and where to find the UFC 288 live stream, right here.

Whether it’s a weekly Fight Night or a numbered pay-per-view, each UFC event typically has anywhere from 10 to 15 fights on deck. These are then divided between two or three fight cards (usually three in the case of UFC PPVs). UFC 288 has a dozen fights scheduled across three cards: The early prelims, prelims, and the main card. The main card is the main event and the pay-per-view portion of the show. To watch UFC 288 in its entirety, you’ll need ESPN+, as this is the only outlet that broadcasts UFC pay-per-views in the U.S.

The main card features the headlining fights and is where the championship contests happen. Tonight, the UFC 288 fight card headliner pits defending bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (22-3) against returning former two-division champ Henry Cejudo (16-2). Cejudo is returning to the Octagon for the first time in almost three years after announcing his retirement in May of 2020 and vacating his bantamweight title (he had already vacated his flyweight title earlier in February of that year).

Aljamain Sterling later won the bantamweight title from Petr Yan under controversial circumstances, after Yan was disqualified due to delivering an illegal knee to Sterling’s head despite an otherwise impressive fight. Sterling successfully defended the title in their rematch, however, before going on to defend the championship once again against T.J. Dillashaw. UFC 288 marks the third championship defense in Sterling’s title reign, and he has his work cut out for him.

Two top welterweight fighters will be touching gloves for the co-main event on the UFC 288 fight card. Belal Muhammad (22-3) and Gilbert Burns (22-5) are two of the highest-ranked combatants on the UFC’s welterweight roster, but neither has held a championship (Gilbert unsuccessfully challenged Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title in 2021). Last-minute lineup changes aren’t uncommon ahead of UFC events, but below, you can check out the full UFC 288 fight card as it stands right now.

UFC 288 is a pay-per-view, so you’ll need to sign up for ESPN+ in order to watch it online tonight. ESPN+ is the exclusive broadcaster of UFC PPVs in the U.S. and is the go-to streaming platform for all UFC fights. Although only the main card is the pay-per-view, you can view the entire UFC 288 fight card on ESPN+.

UFC 288 Fight Card

Main Event (10 PM ET / 7 PM PT)

• Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo
• Belal Muhammad vs. Gilbert Burns
• Jessica Andrade vs. Yan Xiaonan
• Movsar Evloev vs. Diego Lopes
• Kron Gracie vs. Charles Jourdain

Prelims (8 PM ET / 5 PM PT)

• Drew Dober vs. Matt Frevola
• Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Devin Clark
• Khaos Williams vs. Ronaldo Bedoya
• Marina Rodriguez vs. Virna Jandiroba

Early Prelim (6:30 PM ET / 3:30 PM PT)

• Braxton Smith vs. Parker Porter
• Phil Hawes vs. Ikram Aliskerov
• Joseph Holmes vs. Claudio Ribeiro

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