Aljamain Sterling is assured he’d avenge his loss to Sean O’Malley in the event that they ran it again.
Sterling (24-4 MMA, 16-4 UFC) misplaced his bantamweight title to O’Malley by second-round knockout at UFC 292. It was a close to excellent efficiency from O’Malley, who was in a position to stuff Sterling’s takedown makes an attempt and make him pay on certainly one of his entries.
Sterling’s combat in opposition to O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) got here simply over three months after a five-round battle with Henry Cejudo, and “The Funkmaster” insists the fast turnaround negatively impacted him.
“O’Malley confirmed up that night time,” Sterling instructed Kanpai Media. “It was an off night time for myself, and the higher man received that night time. That’s why we are saying, ‘Anywhere, anyplace, any time.’ Typically it’s your night time, typically it’s not, and sadly for me, it simply didn’t go my approach. However I do know if I had a rematch, and so long as he waited from August to preventing ‘Chito’ (Vera) in March, you give me that point to get well and put together and to chop my weight the correct approach, in a rematch, I might wager my life financial savings on that.
“Persons are going to say I’m nonetheless salty. I’m like, ‘Yo, abilities are abilities. Details are information.’ If I sit there and chop the legs down the way in which I did within the first spherical, like, yeah, we might sit right here and do that all day lengthy, however I feel general, O’Malley is getting higher, however I feel I’m superb at what I do and he’s superb at what he does. I’m superb at not letting folks do what they need to do.”
Sterling has since moved as much as featherweight the place he smothered Calvin Kattar for a profitable divisional debut at UFC 300.
After a shutout of Marlon Vera in his first title protection at UFC 299, O’Malley is projected to make his subsequent title protection in opposition to Sterling’s good good friend and teammate, Merab Dvalishvili.
“Now he will get to combat Merab, and I’m blissful for my good friend to get an opportunity to change into a world champion the identical approach I gave a chance of a lifetime for O’Malley even whereas I handicapped myself,” Sterling stated. “Lastly, he’s giving my boy a good shake and giving him an opportunity to appreciate a dream.”
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