Sterling puts Sandhagen to sleep at UFC 250

Aljamain Sterling finished Cory Sandhagen with a rear-naked choke at 1:28 of the first round in their bantamweight bout at UFC 250 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

"Funk Master" pressed forward as soon as the fight started, seemingly wanting to end the affair early. Sterling immediately took control of Sandhagen's back, sunk in a body lock, and attempted a rear-naked choke.

Sandhagen fended off the submission attempt for a few moments and briefly escaped, but Sterling locked in the choke shortly after and left his opponent with no way to escape. Sandhagen tapped just before going unconscious.

UFC president Dana White confirmed Friday that the winner of this matchup would go on to fight for the bantamweight title. Former champion Henry Cejudo retired and relinquished the belt in May; Petr Yan is expected to fight Jose Aldo for the vacant title later this year.

Sterling has now won five fights in a row. This was the 30-year-old's first trip to the Octagon since June 2019 when he beat Pedro Munhoz. Sterling is ranked No. 2 in the division.

Sandhagen entered the bout with a 5-0 record in the UFC, and this was only his second professional loss. The 28-year-old, ranked No. 4 at bantamweight, holds notable wins over Raphael Assuncao and John Lineker.