Aljamain Sterling retains bantamweight title at UFC 280

Sterling completes victory with second-round TKO against TJ Dillashaw in Abu Dhabi

Aljamain Sterling after his win over TJ Dillashaw in the bantamweight title fight at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Aljamain Sterling celebrates his win in the bantamweight title fight at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, October 22, 2022. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Aljamain Sterling beat TJ Dillashaw in the bantamweight title fight at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Aljamain Sterling takes down TJ Dillashaw in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Aljamain Sterling battles with TJ Dillashaw in the bantamweight title fight. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Aljamain Sterling lands a punch on TJ Dillashaw. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Aljamain Sterling reacts after winning the bantamweight title at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. AFP

Aljamain Sterling retained his bantamweight title with a second-round TKO of former belt-holder TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.

The American, making the second defence of the crown, dominated Dillashaw from the off at Etihad Arena, with his compatriot appearing to badly damage his left shoulder in the opening round. Referee Marc Goddard called off the contest as Sterling rained down blows on his rival.

Dillashaw, a former two-time bantamweight champion, said afterwards that his shoulder had popped out repeatedly during training camp ahead of the bout.

In his post-fight press conference, Sterling said: "There's a lot of ideas going through my head right now. It's been a crazy 10 weeks for this fight camp and I'm blessed to be in this position.

"There's a wide range of things I want to do: grow my YouTube channel and give fans behind-the-scenes access to what we go through, acting, not like the first Yan fight that people say I was acting in.

"I came from nothing, so being able to buy my mom a home, a car, help out my teammates, having money in my bank, it's a lot and I'm just looking to keep making history."