NEWARK, N.J. – A matchup with Sean O'Malley is not something that makes UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling feel threatened. In fact, quite the opposite.
Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC), who defended his belt for a third time Saturday in the main event of UFC 288 against Henry Cejudo, thinks his next challenger should be a much more manageable task.
“My thoughts on Sean O’Malley is that motherf*cker is frail,” Sterling told reporters at the UFC 288 post-fight news conference. “You think if I can take down a short stocky guy like Henry, who’s actually a gold medalist ( in Olympic wrestling) and actually has good takedown defense, what am I going to do to Sean O’Malley? Let’s be honest here, guys.
“Yeah, he’s been promised a title shot, but he opted out from taking the title shot and gave Henry a chance to come back and make history. Now there’s no more running. You either want to swim with the big boys or you don’t. If not, get the f*ck out of the pool or go up a weight class or some sh*t. … I guarantee you, we step in there and I fold that man in half in one round. Same thing I did to Sandhagen.”
Although not yet official, UFC president Dana White said he expects Sterling to fight O’Malley on Aug. 19 at UFC 292 in Boston.
Sterling fought Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) to a split decision. Although one judge did see it for “Triple C,” Sterling is pretty confident in his body of work. He knows there will still be critics, but couldn’t care less.
“Close fight, but I definitely thought I won and edged it out in my personal opinion,” Sterling said. “I know there’s critics out there that are going to say, ‘Oh, once again he has a controversial win. He didn’t really win that. SMD (shaking my head), bro. Get used to this face because it’s not going anywhere, guys. It’s not.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.
