Sean O’Malley is the new UFC champion! Sugar slashed at the record holder and removed his belt.
Aug 20, 2023 08:27 am UTC Audio Version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Sterling paid the price for a serious mistake.
The regular UFC 292 mixed martial arts tournament ended in Boston (USA). The main event of the night was the title fight in the bantamweight category between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley.
For Sugarka, this is the first attempt at the championship belt. Everyone remembers very well how in October last year the American defeated Petr Yan by split decision in a close and controversial duel. This allowed O’Malley to instantly jump from 11th in the standings to first and become a contender. At the same time, there are still questions for Sean. With the exception of the aforementioned Jan, he had pretty mediocre opposition and it was unclear how he would perform in a five round fight with a man who had a very well placed fight.
Sterling was initially reluctant to fight in August, complaining that the UFC wouldn’t let him rest between fights. Also, Aljamain was terribly infuriated that O’Malley was considered the promotion’s favorite and received some favors from it. However, the favorite of the fight here was, of course, Sterling. Aljo holds the division record for most belt defenses, with three before the Sean fight, and was clearly intent on bettering his own record. Furthermore, the champion has already announced that this is his last fight in the bantamweight division. Up next is a trip to the featherweight division and, if all goes well, a title with Alex Volkanovski.
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Sterling began the fight with active pressure and used kicks to the body and legs, not allowing the opponent to find the distance. In general, in the first minutes of the round, the fighters focused more on preventing the opponent from working in a comfortable style. There were practically no punches, just exchanges of kicks on different floors, changes of posture and constant feints. And an attempt at Sterling’s feet.
But in the second round, a powerful upset happened. The champion started again actively, taking advantage of O’Malley’s mistake, and believed too much in his own invulnerability. Aljamain completely forgot about caution and rushed forward, and Sugar, with a straight line sighted, knocked down the opponent. Then there were the blunt blows that Sterling tried to escape from, but all to no avail. O’Malley didn’t miss his.
Thus, in the bantamweight division of the UFC a new champion. Sean prepared well, didn’t feint, didn’t waste his energy and took the first opportunity. Perfect game plan, perfect timing, perfect implementation. It only remains to congratulate the new owner.
