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Sean O’Malley proved us wrong at UFC 292
At UFC 292 this past weekend, Sean O’Malley clubbed Aljamain Sterling and then pecked away until the referee waved things off an declared him the new UFC bantamweight champion. It was a stunning performance from the Contender Series product, who was promoted as the champion-in-waiting in the lead-up to this one.
Forget Sterling’s strange game-plan and the questionable stoppage, O’Malley did all he could and all he needed to get that UFC gold and make good on all his talk about being the best in his division. He proved plenty of people wrong by getting his hand raised on Saturday, including us (who were heavily favouring Aljo in our staff picks).
New angle of O’Malley’s TKO
You’ve probably seen the moment Sean O’Malley dropped Aljamain Sterling with a masterful right hook and then followed it up with hammerfists. If you didn’t see it live you would have seen it in clips put out by the UFC (which is an extremely rare thing for them to do with a PPV main event).
But since the UFC sent out their official clips, another clip has surfaced. This one, shot from a fan sitting in the front rows at Boston’s TD Garden’s, shows the stunning finish from a new angle. See it below.
The lucky camera-phone operator captured the punch perfectly and at an angle where you can see both fighter’s footwork, including O’Malley driving off of his toes to get as much power into his strike as possible.
What’s next for Sean O’Malley?
With a new man on top the UFC bantamweight division, there are a number of potential match-ups out there for him to enjoy. However, two of the top challengers are men he’s already fought.
Marlon Vera, who holds a TKO win over O’Malley from UFC 252 in 2020, also won on Saturday. He beat Pedro Munhoz by unanimous decision. Petr Yan, who is lurking at 5th spot in the division, is also a potential suitor. He lost a razor thin decision to O’Malley in 2022.
Other names at the top of the rankings who are yet to face O’Malley are former champ Henry Cejudo (who has had some beef with ‘Suga’ in the past), and Sterling’s friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili (who still has O’Malley’s jacket). Cory Sandhagen, who beat Rob Font a few weeks ago, is also in the title picture.
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