Sean O’Malley believed Henry Cejudo should have won the UFC 288 main event and thought he was a better stylistic matchup for himself, despite Aljamain Sterling retaining the bantamweight title.
Sean O’Malley, a top contender in the bantamweight division of the UFC, had cage side seats to the UFC 288 main event between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo. O’Malley was guaranteed the next title shot against the winner of the fight. Despite Sterling retaining his title with a split decision win over Cejudo, O’Malley believed that Cejudo won the fight.
O’Malley expressed his surprise during the UFC 288 Post-Fight Press Conference. He believed that Cejudo was up 3-1 going into the fifth round and that Cejudo did what he needed to do to win. However, the judges saw it differently and awarded Sterling the split decision victory. O’Malley admitted that he wanted Cejudo to win because he thought Cejudo was a better stylistic matchup for himself and he also wanted to “put that guy to sleep”.
O’Malley also revealed that he hoped to fight Cejudo because he wanted to “slap that little dude”. Despite his disappointment with the outcome, O’Malley accepted that he will have to keep working to earn his title shot against Sterling.
In the end, Sterling and O’Malley nearly came to blows inside the octagon after Sterling accused O’Malley of talking trash about him. O’Malley denied the allegations and tensions remained high between the two fighters. Regardless of the drama, both fighters remain top contenders in the bantamweight division and fans will eagerly await their next fights.