Sean O’Malley shocked the entire mixed martial arts community as he bagged the 2024 ESPY awards for the Best UFC Fighter. Many fight fans didn’t seem to think that the bantamweight champion was worthy of the award, with names like Alex Pereira and Islam Makhachev on the rise. But the fight with Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 was the one that got O’Malley his ESPY award.

Joe Rogan also seemed to think so. But he concluded after pointing out the flaw in Sterling’s game. Let’s see what the beloved UFC color commentator had to say about the fight between Sterling and O’Malley.

Joe Rogan reasons why Sean O’Malley won against Aljamain Sterling

On episode #159 of the JRE MMA Show, Rogan and his guest, Quinton Jackson, sat down together for a 3-hour-long conversation. As the discussion proceeded, ‘Rampage’ asked the JRE host about his opinion on the most well-rounded fighter in the realm of mixed martial arts at that moment. After giving it a bit of thought, Rogan declared O’Malley as the one. After all, he was one of the few fighters who survived against the formidable ‘Funkmaster’. 

The UFC color commentator claimed that it was pretty tough to corner a guy like O’Malley. He said, “Sean is so good everywhere. He’s so good, and you can’t, you can’t corner that guy. He’s just moving, you know. You can’t like corral him.” Then, the 56-year-old revealed why Sterling lost despite his appreciable fighting prowess. Rogan continued, “And the consequences of moving in like what Aljamain did, he just got a little rushed. He rushed in on that right hand. You can’t rush on that guy.”

When the former mixed martial artist wondered about what Sterling was thinking when he rushed into O’Malley, Rogan opined, “I think he got… he just rushed it. Just tried to close the gap. He wanted to get a hold of him, you know. And he just tried to rush in.” Rogan seemed to believe that the ‘Funkmaster’ was better off at 145 pounds. Fighting at 135 pounds was just not for him.

Did you know this wasn’t the only time Rogan praised the bantamweight champion? Well, he seemed to believe that he was like Muhammad Ali in the MMA realm. 

The JRE host compares ‘Suga’ to the legendary Ali

Needless to say, the O’Malley’s fight with Sterling was not a piece of cake for the champ. He was suffering from an injury that limited his grappling. To add to the pressure, ‘Funkmaster’ is known for his strong fists. But when Sterling rushed in, O’Malley found a way to get under his opponent’s skin.

Despite having a 9-fight winning streak before UFC 292, Sterling faced a terrible defeat. It was O’Malley’s barrage of hammer fists that ended the game. Talking to O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, Rogan put forth a strong comment. “The result was amazing. That was probably one of the prettiest right-hands I have ever seen in my life. I mean it literally like Muhammad Ali’s,” said the famed UFC commentator.

Do you think O’Malley is the rightful owner of the 2024 ESPY award for the Best UFC Fighter? Do you side with Rogan’s point about Sterling’s flaw at UFC 292? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.