Daniel Cormier thinks Aljamain Sterling should be rewarded an immediate rematch with Sean O'Malley.
Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) lost his bantamweight title in a knockout loss to O’Malley at UFC 292 in August. After defeating Mike Grundy in a grappling match Saturday at Polaris 25, “The Funkmaster” called out O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC), imploring him to either accept a rematch with him or fight his teammate Merab Dvalishvili.
Cormier praised Sterling for his title reign, where he recorded a bantamweight division record of three title defenses over Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw, and Henry Cejudo. But Cormier says Sterling’s activity and acceptance to fight anyone is ultimately what’s harming his chances of getting an O’Malley rematch – even though he thinks he should get it.
“I love Aljamain Sterling. I love his ability to fight anybody, any time,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “He’s the champ. He don’t care. He’s still fighting these dudes. As much as that made me love him even more than I did before, it ultimately is going to be the thing that makes it hard for him to get what he ultimately wants: that title fight.
“If Sean O’Malley doesn’t feel like he wants to fight him, he will not be forced. The more the star grows, the more input he will have on what his journey looks like. Is it unfair that Aljo doesn’t get a title fight right away? Probably. With all those defenses? Absolutely. I’m taking that back. No ‘probably’ – absolutely, Aljamain should get a title fight. He should get a rematch. But he won’t, because O’Malley is not looking back.”
O’Malley has his sights on a rematch with Marlon Vera for his first title defense. “Chito” handed O’Malley the lone loss of his career over three years ago when he TKO’d him at UFC 252.
“Does Merab deserve a title shot? Absolutely,” Cormier said. “Does Merab deserve a title fight more than ‘Chito’ Vera? Absolutely. What’s the likelihood of ‘Chito’ Vera fighting before Merab and Aljo for the title? Pretty, pretty damn certain.
“They’ve got the backstory, they’ve got the history, they fought the same night, and Sean O’Malley wants to fight him because he wants (to avenge his only loss). So ultimately, all the reasons that I chose to love Aljo or you did is ultimately what’s going to cost him.”
