UFC 280: Aljamain Sterling retains title after T.J. Dillashaw dislocates shoulder (Video)

UFC 280: Aljamain Sterling retains the bantamweight title after defeating T.J. Dillashaw .

Aljamain Sterling defeated T.J. Dillashaw via TKO (strikes), Round 2 – 3:44 at UFC 280 on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, live from the Etihad Arena In Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

“No, I didn’t realize (Dillashaw’s shoulder dislocated) until my corner pointed it… I mean you got sugar tits (Sean O’Malley) and had like a decent performance tonight. You got Marlon Cheetos Vera and you got the boogeyman (Cory Sandhagen), who I already put to sleep so if you want me to put him to sleep again, I’ll do it again,” said Sterling in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier

“Yeah, it popped up right away. I’ve got to apologize to the weight class for holding up the division. I popped it out in April. It was my toughest training camp, it probably popped out 20 times. I told the ref that my shoulder will probably pop out, please don’t stop it, I’ll get it back in. That’s why I was talking about his weak ass striking game, I didn’t want him to wrestle me. I apologize to the weight class but I wasn’t about to wait another year to wait for a title shot,” said Dillashaw in his post-fight interview.

UFC 280: Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw: Round-by-round recap

Dillashaw and Sterling started the fight by throwing kicks Sterling caught a kick and took Dillashaw down. Dillashaw appeared to be in some pain as he adjusted his glove and struggled to defend. Sterling started to unleash several big shots. Dillashaw did not appear capable of using his left arm to defend himself. Sterling transitioned to the back and attempted a choke. Sterling gave up on the submission and flattened out Dillashaw and started landing strikes.  Sterling went for another choke but could not lock it in and again landed strikes. Referee Marc Goddard again moved in but did not stop the fight. Sterling continued to pound down on Dillashaw, who was somehow able to get back to his feet. It became apparent his shoulder had been dislocated. In the corner, Goddard continued to ask to see the shoulder between rounds. Dillashaw’s corner was able to massage the shoulder back into the joint. Goddard also revealed that he might have been aware of a potential injury prior to the fight.

To start the second, Sterling landed a kick to Dillashaw’s shoulder that appeared to that to injure the shoulder again. Sterling took down Dillashaw and started landing more strikes. Dillashaw got up to his feet but almost got caught in another choke. Dillashaw again got up but his shoulder was completely out of the socket. Sterling continued to dominate with his strikes and takedowns. In full mount, Sterling reigned down strikes forcing Dillashaw to give up his back. Sterling continued to land strikes, eventually forcing Goddard to stop the fight.

Sterling entered UFC 280 on a seven-fight winning streak. In his last fight, Sterling defeated Petr Yan by a split decision at UFC 273. With his victory on Saturday, Sterling ties the record for most consecutive title defenses at bantamweight with his second successful title defense.

Dillashaw made his return from suspension in his last fight, defeating Cory Sandhagen in a very tight split decision. During the fight against Sandhagen, Dillashaw suffered a knee injury that kept him sidelined for several months. Following his loss, Dillashaw will likely need surgery on his shoulder and will be out for several months.

UFC 280: Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev took place on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, live from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your news and highlights.