Aljamain Sterling admits UFC 292 title defense against Sean O’Malley is ‘personal’ and claims ‘Sugar’ is lucky to get a shot on the belt, lashing out at the rival’s weak list of former opponents
Aljamain Sterling admits UFC 292 title defense against Sean O’Malley is ‘personal’ and claims ‘Sugar’ is lucky to get a shot on the belt, lashing out at the rival’s weak list of former opponents
- Aljamain Sterling Faces Sean O’Malley In Bantamweight Title Fight At UFC 292
- The Main Event was set up after Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo earlier this year
- Sterling admits it’s “personal” with O’Malley and was aiming for the opponent’s record
Aljamain Sterling believes his UFC 292 challenger Sean O’Malley is lucky to face him this weekend.
The bantamweight champion – who says it’s “personal” between him and “Sugar” – put the spotlight on O’Malley’s resume.
“Let’s face it, there’s only one guy he’s actually beaten by split decision who’s still in the UFC and that’s Petr Yan,” he said. TMZ.
Everyone else, they are no longer in the UFC business.
“I mean, you can look at my resume and everyone is still there. I’ve beaten a lot of good quality guys and I think all of that got me to this point, tested me.’
Sean O’Malley (left) takes on Aljamain Sterling (right) this weekend at UFC 292
Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo by decision after five grueling rounds in May
The 34-year-old continued, “Obviously Sean really wants this (victory) to finally validate himself as a worthy person in this UFC bantamweight division.
“We’ll see if Sean tries to gouge my eyes out the same way Pedro Munoz did.”
When asked if there’s a bad feeling between the couple, Sterling said, “There’s always respect afterwards, but it’s personal in the beginning.
“You’re trying to take something from me and you’re trying to do something to me that isn’t nice.
“That’s usually what happens. We’ll see what kind of emotions come after the fight, we’ll see how the fight ends.’
As for O’Malley, who stepped into the cage after Sterling’s victory over Cejudo to kick-start this fight, he’s confident that the power he has will cause trouble.
He told the MMA hours: “I will land this right hand. Look at my entire UFC career, how many people… whether I killed them in the first round or not, I dropped a lot of people in the first round.
“It cuts a lot of weight and that plays a role in the pictures you can take. So I plan to go there and take the pictures he can’t.”
O’Malley has indicated that he plans to move up to featherweight, possibly after this bout.
He has the frame to compete in a higher division and would generate a lot of interest in an already stacked 145-pound class.
Sterling proved himself with his final performance as a more than legitimate champion