Aljamain Sterling Targeted to Defend Bantamweight Championship vs. Sean O'Malley at UFC 292
A heated matchup at the top of the Bantamweight division is being looked at for UFC 292, which is rumored to be in Boston, Massachusetts, inside the TD Garden. Aljamain Sterling will look to defend his Bantamweight title for the fourth time against Sean O'Malley, per Dana White.
This five-round title fight takes place in the Bantamweight (135 lbs) division.
Aljamain "Funk Master" Sterling holds a professional record of 23-3 (15-3 UFC) and is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion of the world. He holds notable wins over Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo and Cory Sandhagen.
"Sugar" Sean O'Malley is ranked #2 at Bantamweight and claims a professional record of 16-1-1NC (8-1-1NC UFC). He holds credible wins over Petr Yan, Raulian Paiva and Thomas Almeida.
Current Odds: Aljamain Sterling -240, Sean O'Malley +205, per BetOnline as of May 8th, 11AM EST.
Aljamain Sterling, much to many people's displeasure, is on fire at the moment. The reigning Champion of the Bantamweights just secured his third consecutive title defense, a new record for the division. He faced Henry Cejudo in the main event of UFC 288, and handed Cejudo his first loss since 2016. Sterling would control the majority of the striking exchanges, using his length to keep the smaller Cejudo away, and also managed to find plenty of grappling success against the Olympic gold medal wrestler. After a hard fought five rounds Sterling secured the victory via split decision. Inside the octagon he faced off with O'Malley, setting up their encounter very nicely. Sterling is a threat for anyone in the division, possessing elite grappling and Jiu-Jitsu, as well as an awkward striking style which he'll look to impliment vs. O'Malley.
Sean O'Malley is one of the biggest stars in the sport, and rose to new heights in his previous outing. After a frustrating no contest to Pedro Munhoz, O'Malley chucked himself in the deep end and took on the #1 ranked Petr Yan, despite being ranked #11 in the division. The fight entire fight would be competitive, with the only obvious round being the second, which went to Yan. O'Malley would rock Yan multiple times throughout the fight and cut him with a devistating knee in the third, and these moments were enough to gain him the split decision victory. With his superstardom at an all time high, he'll be heading into his first UFC title fight with victory on his mind, and he'll be looking to use his devistating striking to secure the upset over the Champion.
This fight is fantastic, pitting together one of the best grapplers in the UFC against one of the best strikers. So who do you have taking this one? As a member of the Verdict Community, let us know your prediction in the comments below.
