MMA fighter Sean O’Malley defeated Aljamain Sterling early in the second round with a counter right hand, claiming the title of UFC bantamweight champion.
Sean O’Malley, already esteemed as a superstar, has added another feather to his cap by becoming a UFC champion. In his inaugural title attempt since joining the promotion under Dana White’s Contender Series, O’Malley managed to knock out Aljamain Sterling with a fierce counter right hand in the second round of the UFC 292 main event. As Sterling endeavoured to bare the brunt and stay in the fight, O’Malley relentlessly continued to assault him from top till referee Marc Goddard had no other option but to halt the fight.
The fight concluded 51 seconds into the second round, garnering O’Malley as the new champion of the bantamweight division. Following the match, he acknowledged that he felt overwhelmed in the heat of the moment, but certainly managed to pull off yet another remarkable performance. He mentioned that his nervousness for the fight had been at its highest stating, “In my eyes, Aljamian Sterling is the best bantamweight of all time. I was slightly nervous but never lost confidence in my right hand!”. He expressed that he’s just that good, and it takes just one mistake against him to shift the course of the fight.
The initial round reflected a palpable tension between the two fighters with neither extending any generous mercies. O’Malley launched his attacks from a distance, and Sterling returned the favor with kicks. Apart from a few impactful leg blows from Sterling, he also tried to make the champion bite an opportunity so he could hit him with a power punch. The first round ended with Sterling attempting a takedown on O’Malley, but the new champion managed to resist just as the first round concluded.
As the fight resumed, Sterling assumed an aggressive approach. However, O’Malley, with his refined timing and precision, launched a robust right-handed punch, causing Sterling to spiral onto the canvas. Leveraging his long reach, O’Malley continued to assault Sterling until the referee had seen enough to end the fight. After the match, Sterling called it a fair game and extended his admiration to O’Malley. Now, as the champion, O’Malley is anticipated to be the next big star for the UFC and is already eyeing his next match for a rematch with the only fighter who has ever beat him. He prophesied the onset of the ‘Suga’ era saying, “I’m running this s***t until 2035.”