A bantamweight title fight between current champion Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw has been announced as the co-main event for UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on 22nd October.
After a somewhat controversial title win via a disqualification against Petr Yan last year after being hit by an illegal knee, Sterling solidified his status as the bantamweight division leader last time out when he beat Yan by split-decision in their long-awaited rematch.
That leaves Sterling on a seven-fight winning streak heading into his next title defense, during which time he’s also beaten the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Pedro Munhoz and jimmie Rivera.
As for Dillashaw, the former bantamweight champion was stripped of the title back in 2019 and suspended for two years after testing positive for EPO following a 32 second TKO loss to Henry Cejudo in a flyweight title fight.
Dillashaw returned from that suspension a year ago with a split decision victory over Cory Sandhagen, but has been out since after suffering a knee injury.
Sterling vs. Dillashaw will co-headline a UFC 280 event in Abu Dhabi that will feature a main event fight for the vacant lightweight title between Charles Olivera and Islam Makhachev, while Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady has also been booked for the show.
