BOSTON – There were questions about Sean O'Malley’s title-fight worthiness heading into UFC 292 and rightfully so given his resume.
His five-fight unbeaten streak consisted of three fighters released from the UFC (Thomas Almeida, Kris Moutinho and Raulian Paiva), a no contest vs. Pedro Munhoz after an accidental eye poke, and a controversial split decision win over former champion Petr Yan, which elevated him to No. 2 in the UFC bantamweight rankings and secured his title shot.
“Dana White privilege,” anybody? That’s what Aljamain Sterling was talking about before their encounter Saturday night at UFC 292, a notion the UFC president shot down afterward.
“Yeah, listen. Dana White privilege: You don’t become No. 2 in the world without earning it, so … and I don’t pick that. You people do,” White said during the UFC 292 post-even news conference. “Then he went in there and delivered tonight. There’s no such thing as Dana White privilege in this company.”
That assertion by the UFC boss is up for debate, but any thoughts of O’Malley benefitting from “Dana White privilege” became irrelevant after he proved just how good he is when he sniped Sterling with a counter right hand and then finished him 51 seconds into the UFC 292 main event to claim the bantamweight title.
All three judges scored the first round in favor of O’Malley, but he more than held his own by defending Sterling’s early takedown attempts, something most observers didn’t think would be possible. For O’Malley, the title victory was the culmination of a UFC journey that began with the inaugural season of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017, when he was already pegged as a blue-chip prospect.
The way White sees it, Saturday’s performance and the frenzy O’Malley caused in Boston are signs that the “The Suga Show” has made it big time.
“We broke the all-time gate record here. Bruce Springsteen just played here and did $5 million. We did over $7 million,” White said. “The Boston Garden, the craziest f*cking sports town on earth, other than their team that plays here, we’re the biggest thing that’s ever been here. So what does that tell you about O’Malley? This is also the biggest bantamweight championship fight ever on pay-per-view globally. It broke the record – biggest bantamweight championship fight. I’m sure you saw the crowd at the end.
“O’Malley isn’t gonna be a star. He is a star.”
That appears to be true.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.
