Aljamain Sterling (L) competes against TJ Dillashaw in the bantamweight championship at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 22, 2022. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)
Marlon Vera, Henry Cejudo, others react to Aljamain Sterling dominating TJ Dillashaw.
Love was given to TJ Dillashaw for battling through injury; regardless, Aljamain Sterling had an easy night at the office, retaining the bantamweight title at UFC 280. Sterling called out Marlon Vera and Henry Cejudo after the fight and got immediate quips back on social media.
It wasn’t even close.
Sterling successfully retained the UFC bantamweight championship with a second-round finish of Dillashaw.
The opening round was a dominant performance by Sterling, as Dillashaw appeared to injure his shoulder on a takedown by Sterling. After the round, referee Marc Goddard could be heard saying he was informed of a shoulder issue prior to the fight. Dillashaw managed to last the full round, but it wasn’t without Sterling riding his back and overwhelming him with strikes throughout.
Unfortunately for Dillashaw, the shoulder was re-injured during the second round and it became a repeat of the first, eventually forcing Goddard to step in.
UFC 280: Pros react to Aljamain Sterling vs. TJ Dillashaw
Sterling also made a couple of call-outs of potential next challengers in his post-fight interview, including Marlon “Chito” Vera and Henry Cejudo, who was quick to fire back.
Sterling entered this fight on a seven-fight win streak, claiming the championship from Petr Yan at UFC 259 — a bout that marked the first time a UFC title changed hands on a disqualification. He successfully retained the belt against Yan in a rematch at UFC 273 earlier this year.
After serving a two-year suspension for testing positive for EPO, Dillashaw returned to the cage in July 2021, defeating Cory Sandhagen via a controversial split decision.
Dillashaw has held the bantamweight championship twice previously. He originally won the title in one of MMA’s biggest upsets by defeating Renan Barao at UFC 173. He defended it twice against Joe Soto and Barao before dropping the belt to Dominick Cruz in January 2016.
He then regained the title by defeating Cody Garbrandt at UFC 217, retaining the title in a rematch at UFC 227 before a loss in challenging then-flyweight champ Henry Cejudo in January 2019.
UFC 280: Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev takes 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.
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