UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley is finally getting his title shot. In a recent interview with The MMA Hour, O’Malley was brash as ever, claiming that his UFC 292 opponent, reigning champ Aljamain Sterling, looks “nervous” about the fight.
“He has what I want, he has the belt. It’s as simple as that. I just let him know, I said, ‘Hey champ, you look a little nervous,’ when I saw him on the TV. I was just being honest.
Sean O’Malley: Aljamain Sterling Looks “Nervous” Ahead of UFC 292
He looked a little — this moment might get to him a little bit. What was that, 14, 13 days out from weigh-ins? I’m sure he still has a lot of weight to cut, he’s dealing with these injuries. So I just thought he looked a little nervous, I thought I’d let him know, and I did.”
UFC 292 will mark Sterling’s fourth consecutive title defense at bantamweight, and Sterling has long complained of the gruelling weight cut he undertakes in order to reach the division’s 135-pound limit. O’Malley believes that the weight cut will affect Sterling’s performance heading into the bout.
“I’ve heard him say he has trouble sleeping sometimes. Obviously, he has trouble not trouble making weight, I guess you could say trouble making weight. It’s not fun.
I mean, I don’t cut as much weight as him and I don’t f****** like cutting weight, it sucks. So for me, having fat-ass dinners a couple of weeks out, I guarantee he’s not having those, and if he is, it’s just going to make his weight cut that much worse.”
O’Malley, primarily a striker, is well aware of the predictions going into a fight against Sterling, primarily a grappler. Given the general MMA axiom that a very good grappler usually beats a very good striker, how does “Suga” Sean plan to earn victory?
“I’ve definitely been hearing that. It is what it is, I’m not really too worried about what people say. Going into that Petr Yan fight, I heard a lot of the same things, obviously not about the wrestling or grappling, but that Petr was going to destroy me, I shouldn’t be in there with him.
Then I go out there and beat him, get the job done, so I’m not too worried about it. I agree, I think his wrestling and grappling is very f****** good.
It’s whether I can crack him and put his f****** lights out before he grabs me. It’s a striker vs. grappler matchup, there’s no secret in our game plans. I truly believe I’m 100 percent capable of putting his lights out.
I’m f****** fast right now, I’m sharp right now, I’m accurate right now, I will land this right hand. You go and look at my UFC career, whether I’ve finished them in the first round or not, I’ve dropped a lot of people in the first round.”
