Aljamain Sterling‘s first title defense will be against the former bantamweight king.
MMAJunkie was the first to report the news that UFC bantamweight champion Sterling will defend his title against former champion T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 279 on September 10. No location has been announced as it is to be determined. A source close to the situation confirmed the bantamweight fight to MiddleEasy.
A bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw is being targeted for UFC 279 on Sept. 10, sources confirmed with @marcraimondi.
First reported by MMA Junkie, and location is to be determined. pic.twitter.com/HBNACRzwD3
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 16, 2022
History
Sterling defended and unified the bantamweight title at UFC 273 in April. He defeated rival Petr Yan in their highly anticipated rematch. It was Sterling’s first bout since their original fight at UFC 259, as he was recovering from neck surgery. Before winning the bantamweight title, Sterling defeated Cory Sandhagen, Pedro Munhoz, Jimmie Rivera, Cody Stamman, and Brett Johns.
Dillashaw returned from his two-year suspension last July, defeating Sandhagen, securing the number one contendership. The former champion never lost his belt; instead, he relinquished it when he was caught using EPO for his flyweight championship against Henry Cejudo. Dillashaw is a two-time bantamweight champion and, in his last reign, only defended it once against Cody Garbrandt.
UFC 279
UFC 279 will be the promotion’s 10th pay-per-view.
The UFC 279 fight card currently looks like this:
- Aljamain Sterling (c) vs. T.J. Dillashaw – for the bantamweight title
- Norma Dumont vs. Danielle Wolf
- Hannah Cifers vs. Melissa Martinez
- Victor Altamirano vs. Daniel da Silva
