It looks like Sean O’Malley will be too precise for UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) is coming off a split decision win over Henry Cejudo this past Saturday in the UFC 288 main event. O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is the next opponent.
Following Sterling’s victory, O’Malley invited Sterling into the octagon for a heated exchange that almost turned physical. O’Malley praised Sterling for his unorthodox style, but he vows it won’t hurt him.
“I am a sniper,” O’Malley told The Schmo. “Aljo walks forward, and his awkwardness is effective in MMA. You’ve got to give it to him because you watch him strike and you’re like, ‘What the hell is he doing?’ But look what he’s done. So, his awkwardness is effective, but I think it’ll be the downfall of him because I am a sniper.
“You can’t walk forward like that with me and cross your feet with your chin in the air because I will find it, and I will find it often. I’m not saying I’m gonna go out there and one-shot him, put his lights out in the first. I just believe that I will hit him over and over and over again to where he will fall.”
As far as O’Malley is concerned, Sterling is the greatest bantamweight of all time. In addition to holding the record for the most consecutive bantamweight title defenses in UFC history, Sterling holds the longest active winning streak at the bantamweight division.
“I think you look at his resume and what he’s done, and it’s hard to deny that,” O’Malley said. “I think Aljamain is the greatest bantamweight of all time currently.”
