Aljamain Sterling admits UFC 292 title protection towards Sean O’Malley is ‘personal’ and claims ‘Sugar’ is fortunate to get a shot on the belt, lashing out on the rival’s weak listing of former opponents
Aljamain Sterling believes his UFC 292 challenger Sean O’Malley is fortunate to face him this weekend.
The bantamweight champion – who says it’s “personal” between him and “Sugar” – put the highlight on O’Malley’s resume.
“Let’s face it, there’s only one guy he’s actually beaten by split decision who’s still in the UFC and that’s Petr Yan,” he mentioned. TMZ.
Everyone else, they’re not within the UFC enterprise.
“I mean, you can look at my resume and everyone is still there. I’ve beaten a lot of good quality guys and I think all of that got me to this point, tested me.’
Sean O’Malley (left) takes on Aljamain Sterling (right) this weekend at UFC 292
Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo by decision after five grueling rounds in May
The 34-year-old continued, “Obviously Sean really wants this (victory) to finally validate himself as a worthy person in this UFC bantamweight division.
“We’ll see if Sean tries to gouge my eyes out the same way Pedro Munoz did.”
When requested if there’s a nasty feeling between the couple, Sterling mentioned, “There’s always respect afterwards, but it’s personal in the beginning.
“You’re trying to take something from me and you’re trying to do something to me that isn’t nice.
“That’s usually what happens. We’ll see what kind of emotions come after the fight, we’ll see how the fight ends.’
As for O’Malley, who stepped into the cage after Sterling’s victory over Cejudo to kick-start this fight, he’s confident that the power he has will cause trouble.
He told the MMA hours: “I will land this right hand. Look at my entire UFC career, how many people… whether I killed them in the first round or not, I dropped a lot of people in the first round.
“It cuts a lot of weight and that plays a role in the pictures you can take. So I plan to go there and take the pictures he can’t.”
O’Malley has indicated that he plans to maneuver as much as featherweight, presumably after this bout.
He has the body to compete in the next division and would generate plenty of curiosity in an already stacked 145-pound class.
Sterling proved himself together with his closing efficiency as a greater than legit champion
