UFC 292: Sean O’Malley’s wake-up call for Aljamain Sterling

Sean O’Malley always tells it like it is, and ‘Sugar’ has some harsh words for Aljamain Sterling ahead of their UFC 292 showdown.

Sean O’Malley (L) and Aljamain Sterling (R) fight for the bantamweight title at UFC 292 this weekend. Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley has laughed off Aljamain Sterling’s hopes of fighting Aussie featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski.

Not just because O’Malley thinks he’ll beat Sterling and claim the bantamweight belt at UFC 292 in Boston this weekend – although he intends on doing exactly that.

Rather, O’Malley thinks Sterling is all talk.

He doesn’t believe ‘Funkmaster’ really wants to move up to 145 pounds and fight Volkanovski.

“I don’t think he wants to fight Volk if I’m being honest with you,” O’Malley told this masthead. “I just don’t think he wants to do that.

“I don’t see how he beats Volk. Like, where does he think he’s going to beat Volkanovski? Islam (Makhachev) couldn’t do much to him at lightweight.

“So, Aljo moving up from 135-pounds to fight him, I think Volk probably puts his lights out.”

Sterling (L) picked up the biggest win of his career by beating Henry Cejudo in May. Picture: Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Hell, O’Malley doesn’t even want anything to do with Volkanovski, who is the number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

“Not really, no,” he laughed when asked if a move to featherweight to take on Volkanovski could ever be on the cards. “Volk’s a tough fight. I have no interest in fighting him.

“I’d rather stick around the little dudes for a little bit.”

In Sterling, O’Malley faces one of the greatest “little dudes” in UFC history this weekend. After grafting his way towards the top of the division, Sterling won the title in controversial fashion with a disqualification win over Petr Yan in 2021.

He’s been on an absolute tear since then though, and even the boastful O’Malley knows how dangerous the ‘Funkmaster’ is.

Enigmatic is one way to describe O’Malley. Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

“He’s on a nine fight win-streak in the bantamweight division, which is very impressive,” he said. “He’s had three title defences, again, very impressive.

“I look at the division and he’s the number one guy, the toughest guy at 135 and the best grappler.”

With shocks of bright hair, tattoos all over his body, including his face, and a penchant for making outrageous claims in interviews and on podcasts, O’Malley has taken the MMA world by storm since debuting in the UFC in 2018.

He was always destined for big things, but a first round defeat to Marlon Vera in 2020 - during which he picked up a serious leg injury - halted his progress.

Since then, the Sugar Show has picked up four fight night bonus checks in five bouts. The outlier was a no contest against Pedro Munhoz last year when Munhoz was felled by an accidental eye poke.

O’Malley locked in his title shot with a win over Petr Yan. Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

O’Malley’s relatively rapid rise up the 135-pound rankings annoys Sterling, whose path to gold was longer and more arduous.

“He’s one of those guys who chirps from the safety of their couch,” Sterling told this masthead. “It’s not about what you deserve, it’s about what you can negotiate for yourself, and he’s negotiated himself into an ass whipping.”

Again, O’Malley gives Aljo’s comments short shrift.

“I think it’s impressive if I’ve talked my way into a UFC title shot,” he said. “That’s a thing of beauty.

“It’s a hard thing to do, so I take that as a complement.

“But the fight ends with, ‘And new’ and the Sugar Show knocking Aljo out.”

Originally published as UFC 292: Sean O’Malley’s wake-up call for Aljamain Sterling