Sean O’Malley will not serve as the backup fighter for the Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo match, stating he needs a proper eight weeks of preparation for a fight.
Sean O’Malley has confirmed that he will not serve as the backup fighter for the upcoming Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo bout. In May, Sterling is set to defend his bantamweight title against former champion Cejudo in the main event of UFC 288. As the presumptive next title challenger, many believed O’Malley would assume the role of backup fighter if something were to happen to either Sterling or Cejudo. However, O’Malley revealed on his TimboSugarShow that this will not be the case.
O’Malley expressed his reasons for not serving as a backup, saying, “I was really planning on being backup for Henry-Aljo. Now we’re at the point where it is so — go and doing a camp, five five-[minute rounds]. Planning on a fight is hard enough to do knowing you have a fight, but knowing you’re probably not going to fight, I can’t train the same way. And I don’t feel like I’m in a position where I’m like, ‘Well, it’s my only opportunity, I need to be a backup.’ I was trying, but now I’m to the point where I’m like, f*** that. If one of those dorks pull out, reschedule it.”
One of the biggest names in UFC, O’Malley scored the biggest win of his career in October, taking a split decision over former champion Petr Yan at UFC 280. That win vaulted O’Malley into the No. 1 spot in the UFC bantamweight rankings, and set “Sugar” up for a title shot. However, O’Malley has since been surpassed by Sterling’s teammate Merab Dvalishvili.
O’Malley states that he would rather wait for a proper title shot so he can be fully prepared. He explains, “I need a real eight weeks where I know I’m fighting. It’s just too hard to go be that disciplined. You can’t be that disciplined all the time. There’s a certain level of disciplined you can be in camp, and that’s why you feel like a f****** superhuman when you’re in there because the way you’ve lived the last eight weeks, whatever it is.” UFC 288 is set to take place on May 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.