Aljamain Sterling criticizes Sean O’Malley after their altercation at UFC 288’s post-fight presser and predicts folding him in half in one round during their future fight.
Aljamain Sterling didn’t have many nice things to say about Sean O’Malley before their face-off at UFC 288, and the event’s post-fight press conference only gave him more reasons to express his dislike. With O’Malley up next, “Funkmaster” used his solo mic time to predict doom for the colorfully-maned UFC bantamweight and gamer. “My thoughts on Sean O’Malley is that motherf***** is frail,” Sterling said after outpointing former two-division champ Henry Cejudo at UFC 288. He went on to criticize O’Malley’s decision to wait for a title shot, telling him to “get the f*** out of the pool” if he isn’t willing to swim with the big boys.
O’Malley pitched an interim title fight with Cejudo when a lingering bicep injury delayed Sterling’s meeting with “Triple C.” The UFC ended up waiting to make the fight, and O’Malley balked at the idea of playing backup fighter. After Sterling emerged victorious at UFC 288, O’Malley was invited into the octagon at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The ensuing chaos prompted UFC President Dana White to declare it a “bad idea.” For Sterling, however, it might have been a perfect motivation.
“I guarantee you: We step in there, I think I fold that man in half in one round. Same thing I did to [Cory] Sandhagen. Go out there, pressure forward. He’s gonna use this footwork. I’m gonna cut off the cage, like I was just talking about. Eventually, he’s gonna be on his back foot. Let him throw a stupid kick that I’m going to catch, I’m going to bodylock him, and I’m gonna fold him in half like a lawn chair, and that’s gonna be the fight. … Signed, sealed, delivered.” Despite two title defenses, Sterling was still a betting underdog, entering his fight with Cejudo, who returned from a three-year layoff to reclaim the bantamweight title and set up a featherweight showdown with champ Alexander Volkanovski.
Sterling, a Long Island, N.Y. native, was still greeted with boos on home turf when O’Malley told him he “looked like s***.” His teammate, Merab Dvalishvili, didn’t take kindly to that, stealing O’Malley’s jacket in response. Sterling later mentioned that he was “in a different world” and ready to jump in to defend his friend. He went on to acknowledge that O’Malley could potentially land a hit that could take him down, but he remained confident: “I’ve been humbled by this sport, and I think O’Malley needs to be humbled again. I guess him breaking his foot against [Maron Vera] wasn’t enough for him, so I’ve got to do it again to him.”