American fighter Aljamain Sterling is barred from fighting for 2 months after he was poleaxed by an illegal knee

• Aljamain Sterling is barred from fighting for two months.
• The bantamweight won the UFC championship after his opponent Petr Yan was DQ'd for an illegal knee.
• Sterling was one of 20 athletes to be slapped with medical suspensions after UFC 259.

The American fighter Aljamain Sterling can't compete for two months because of a medical suspension after he was clattered with an illegal knee Saturday at the big UFC 259 event in Las Vegas.

Sterling, the No. 1 contender in the bantamweight division, challenged Petr Yan for the Russian striker's championship title and, after a back-and-forth battle, left the Octagon victorious, winning by disqualification.

Yan hit Sterling with a knee to the face when Sterling was in a down position.

The referee gave Sterling time to recover and brought the doctor in to check on him.

Sterling said he didn't want the fight to end like that but was deemed unfit to continue and therefore was awarded the win by DQ.

Mixed Martial Arts, the official record-keeper for MMA, sent Insider a statement Monday detailing medical suspensions for athletes competing at the UFC 259 event.

Because the show took place in Las Vegas, the suspensions are handled by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Medical suspensions are common in combat sports to ensure the winning and losing fighters get enough time off from competitive sport, as well as contact sparring, to recover physically and mentally.

Sterling is prevented from contact sparring until April 21 and will not be able to compete until May 6, according to Mixed Martial Arts.

The commission handed out 19 other medical suspensions on a wild night of fights that included Tim Elliot asking his opponent whether he was a woman-beater in the middle of their fight, Amanda Nunes dominating Megan Anderson so resoundingly she was hit only twice, and Jan Blachowicz derailing Israel Adesanya's quest to be the best with a signature win of his own.

Jordan Espinosa, who was Elliot's opponent, is barred until April 6; Anderson must have an MRI scan on her right elbow; and Adesanya must receive clearance from X-rays on his left foot and right ankle.

The next UFC event is the UFC Fight Night 187 show scheduled for March 13 at the Apex in Las Vegas. The welterweight Leon Edwards is set to fight Belal Muhammad in the show's main event.