Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will make his next 135-pound title defense against former division kingpin TJ Dillashaw as part of the upcoming UFC 279 pay-per-view (PPV) card on Sept. 10, according to MMA Junkie, though a location has yet to be determined.
Boston and Atlanta are reportedly at the top of the list.
“Imagine losing a title fight by KO, then getting busted for PEDs, then winning a fight by split decision that you really lost, then getting a title shot,” Sterling wrote on Instagram. “This is trash.”
Sterling (21-3) is the winner of seven straight and captured back-to-back victories over Petr Yan to cement himself as the bantamweight champion, first by way of disqualification at UFC 259 then by split decision at UFC 273.
As for Dillashaw (17-4), he returned from a two-year drug-testing suspension — and an unsuccessful trip to flyweight — to win a split decision over top contender Cory Sandhagen in the “real title fight” at UFC Vegas 32.
UFC 279 will also feature the featherweight fracas between Norma Dumont vs. Danielle Wolf, while Melissa Martinez makes her Octagon debut against strawweight slugger Hannah Cifers. Elsewhere on the card, Victor Altamirano and Daniel da Silva hook ‘em up at 125 pounds.
Stay tuned for more UFC 279 fight card announcement in the coming weeks.