UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling doesn’t view Sean O'Malley as a proven knockout artist.
Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) will defend his title against O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in the UFC 292 headliner Aug. 19 at TD Garden in Boston. Eleven of O’Malley’s 16 professional wins have come by knockout, but Sterling criticizes the level of opposition they’ve come against.
“I mean, when is the last time he knocked anybody out, though? Are any of those guys even in the UFC anymore? We’re going to find out. That’s the beauty about this sport,” Sterling told The Schmo. “I can say what I want to say, he can say what he wants to say, but eventually we are going to get locked in there on Aug. 19.
“We’ll figure it out Aug. 19, and we’ll see who’s who. I’ll be four-time Funk and after that, don’t call my phone, Dana. Don’t call my phone, Hunter. I’m on vacation for a very long time.”
Although Sterling said he’s not underestimating O’Malley, he envisions himself getting the stoppage win early.
“Sean’s a tough dude. I’m not looking past him by any means,” Sterling said. “With that being said, I finish him in one.”
Sterling doesn’t see O’Malley being able to hang with him on the ground. In his most recent title defense, Sterling took Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo down four times en route to a split decision win at UFC 288.
“Sean is a game opponent,” Sterling added. “He’s tall, he’s rangy, he hits hard, very accurate. But we’ve seen every time he’s stepped up in competition, he’s kind of fumbled the bag a little bit. He has one really good win over Petr Yan.
“I’m proven. What he’s done, he’s done the same thing over and over. We’re gonna see how he does with someone who can actually put him on his back and keep him there other than ‘Chito’ (Vera), and we saw how that went already.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.
