A trio of big news stories broke for UFC’s October 22nd pay-per-view event recently.
A new title fight has joined UFC 280, along with two new high-profile bouts. All of the changes are joining a card that is scheduled to take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Sterling vs. Dillashaw Moved To UFC 280
A previously booked fight between UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw has been moved to UFC 280. News broke Tuesday that UFC was aiming to move the fight, as it was reportedly taken out of the promotion’s September 10th show.
The fight has now been verbally agreed to move to October, per Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie.
Dillashaw will be fighting to regain champion status. The former title challenger made his return from suspension last summer, going five rounds against Cory Sandhagen for a split decision win.
Sterling will be kicking off his second rivalry as a champion with this fight. He is coming off a two-fight series against former titleholder Petr Yan from 2021 to 2022.
Sterling became champion last year, as former titleholder Yan disqualified himself in the fourth round of a bout between them due to an illegal knee. Sterling also prevailed in their second appearance, going five rounds against him in April to earn a split decision victory.
UFC Reportedly Attempting To Make O’Malley vs. Yan
Sean O’Malley could get the chance to become one of the top bantamweights in the fall. The rising talent is being paired up against former champion Petr Yan, per recent reports.
O’Malley revealed the matchup during an interview with ESPN program “DC & RC.” A report from Mike Heck of MMA Fighting has since confirmed that a fight between the bantamweights is being attempted by the promotion currently.
O’Malley has gained a large amount of momentum since joining the UFC roster in 2017. He has finished most of his fights via dominant fashion, although he has yet to prevail over a name that many would consider a top talent at bantamweight.
O’Malley was recently booked against Pedro Munhoz in a fight that many considered a big test for him. Neither fighter emerged victorious from the bout, as an eye poke to Munhoz caused the fight to end in a no contest during the second round.
Should he receive a fight against Yan and succeed in his performance, O’Malley would have a case for challenging the bantamweight champion.
Yan will be looking to pick up his first win since losing to Aljamain Sterling earlier this year.
Rising Lightweights Gamrot, Dariush Paired Up
Two of lightweight’s biggest rising names will meet on the card, as Mateusz Gamrot and Beneil Dariush have been booked to face off. News of the matchup was first confirmed by Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
Gamrot is currently riding a four-fight winning streak in the UFC. The former KSW Lightweight Champion prevailed in his first-ever UFC main event appearance last month, going five rounds against Arman Tsarukyan for a unanimous decision victory.
Dariush has put together an impressive seven-fight run of wins since 2018. His last appearance came in May 2021, when he beat Tony Ferguson on scorecards.
Dariush was scheduled to face Islam Makhachev in a main event bout earlier this year, but injury stopped that booking from going through.
Updated Lineup
UFC 280 is slowly but surely being built up. A previously booked title fight for the show is scheduled to see Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev compete for the promotion’s vacant lightweight belt.
Here is how the show looks now:
Bout 5: Charles Oliveira (33-8) vs. Islam Makhachev (22-1) (Vacant UFC Lightweight Championship)
Bout 4: Aljamain Sterling (21-3) vs. TJ Dillashaw (17-4) (UFC Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 3: Belal Muhammad (21-3) vs. Sean Brady (15-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Petr Yan (16-3) vs. Sean O’Malley (15-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Beneil Dariush (21-4-1) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (21-1) (Lightweight)
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