Sterling To Make UFC Title Defense Against Dillashaw On October 22nd

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Current Caribbean American bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will make his second title defense against former champ T.J. Dillashaw on October 22nd. The fight was initially scheduled at UFC 279 (September 10th), but a rearranged schedule has pushed the bout to an already talent-filled Abu Dhabi card.

Sterling (17-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) has been the epitome of the term ‘champion spirit,’ after a lackluster 2-3 UFC record between 2016/17, the New York native took a U-turn in the octagon and ascended to the top of the 135l division. Controversially, Sterling obtained the UFC bantamweight title when Petr Yan was disqualified for landing an illegal strike. A UFC title changed hands for the first time in the company’s history because of a DQ.

“Everything I worked for to this point, and to have the fight go like that,” Sterling commented post-fight. “I thought the fight was very close; I thought I was down two rounds. That’s not the way I wanted to win. That’s not the way I envisioned this. I just took the belt off.” Read more.