Champion Aljamain Sterling will face Sean O’Malley in a bantamweight bout for the title. Coming off a close victory over former two-division champion Henry Cejudo in May, ‘The Funk Master’ has already defended his title a record three times and will be looking to extend his streak to four against O’Malley.
On the other hand, O’Malley, who has lost only one fight in his 18 fight career, comes off a split decision victory against Russian Petr Yan, which was preceded by a disappointing no contest against Pedro Munhoz. But, Sterling is confident of a victory. Speaking to TMZ Sports ahead of their clash at UFC 292 this week, he seemed confident of victory and even predicted how he would win.
Sterling talks about how he will defeat O’Malley
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Discussing the fight, Sterling expressed confidence in his ability to defeat O’Malley. He believed that his strongest performance would come from grappling on the ground, considering factors like size and reach that made it unwise to engage in a stand-up battle with the Montana native. However, he held aspirations of achieving his inaugural standing knockout should they trade punches, aiming to enhance his knockout record.
“I think I could beat him anywhere to be honest. But standing with him where he has his most physical advantages, which is his height, his reach, doesn’t make the most sense to me. But I do know once I start wrestling, the striking will open up and then maybe you’ll see me starting to put a lot more hands on him. And who knows, maybe I might score my first actual standing knockout,” he told TMZ Sports
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Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley – a classic striker vs. grappler fight
Sterling comes into the bout on a ten fight winning streak. Sterling seems unperturbed by the challenge that O’Malley presents, despite the latter’s superior striking skills. And the fight is shaping up to be a classic grappler vs. striker fight. Sterling has already indicated his preference to take O’Malley to the ground as soon as possible in their fight. ‘The Funk master’ has said that he would need only one mistake on O’Malley’s part to defeat him. He has predicted that he would win within two rounds on Twitter.
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Fans are eagerly waiting for the matchup between the two rivals in the main event of UFC 292. It would not just be a fight between two fighters, but a clash between two contrasting fighting styles. Who do you think will win in the fight between O’Malley and Sterling? Let us know in the comments section below.
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