Aljamain Sterling-T.J. Dillashaw Title Bout Rescheduled for UFC 280 Co-Main Event

It looks like Aljamain Sterling will defend his bantamweight crown against T.J. Dillashaw a little bit later than originally anticipated.

According to Yahoo Sports, Sterling vs. Dillashaw will serve as the co-main event at UFC 280 on Oct. 22. The title bout was originally slated for UFC 279 on Sept. 10 but that event will now be headlined by a five-round, non-title clash between Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev. The matchup was later confirmed by UFC broadcast partner ESPN.

UFC 280 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a showdown between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev for the vacant lightweight title.

After winning the 135-pound belt with a controversial disqualification victory over Petr Yan at UFC 259, Sterling defeated Yan via split decision in their rematch at UFC 273 on April 9. The “Funk Master” has won seven consecutive fights in UFC competition, with other notable victories over the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera.

A former two-time bantamweight champion, Dillashaw returned following a two-year USADA suspension at UFC on ESPN 27 last July, when he took a split verdict over Sandhagen. It was Dillashaw’s first appearance since a failed bid to capture flyweight gold at UFC Fight Night 143, when he was stopped by Henry Cejudo in 32 seconds in January 2019.