In one of the most anticipated title fights of the year, Aljamain Sterling takes on one of the biggest stars in UFC, Sean O’Malley. After beating Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo title fights, Sterling is already eyeing the UFC featherweight title.
But, before that he will defend his bantamweight title one last time against Sean O’Malley. O’Malley is coming off a controversial decision win over Petr Yan. But, can he solve the funky style of Aljamain Sterling to win the UFC title.
Sean O’Malley vs Aljamain Sterling height, weight, MMA record difference
Only one UFC fighter has been able to beat O’Malley so far in his career. And that is Marlon Vera. O’Malley’s last win over Petr Yan is certainly the biggest win of his career. It also proved that the hype behind Suga Show was real.
Sean O’Malley has 16 wins and 1 loss and 1 no contest in his MMA career after making his debut in 2015. O’Malley’s height is 5 ft 11 inches and he has only fought in bantamweight division since his UFC debut.
O’Malley is one of the biggest bantamweights in UFC who has a reach advantage over most of his opponents. O’Malley has a reach of 72 inches while Sterling has a reach of 71 inches.
Aljamain Sterling generally has the reach advantage against his bantamweight opponents. However, O’Malley’s striking at range will be a problem for the bantamweight champion. Sterling is a big bantamweight, whose weight goes upto 170lbs off camp.
Aljamain Sterling has a MMA record of 23 wins and 3 losses. Sterling has been knocked out only once in his MMA career, that came against Marlon Moraes. On the other hand, O’Malley has only lost to Marlon Vera by TKO in his UFC career.
Sterling has 3 knockouts and 11 submissions in his record. On the other hand, O’Malley has 11 KOs and 1 submission in his career so far.
Sean O’Malley vs Aljamain Sterling prediction and breakdown
The UFC bantamweight champion is the favorite to win against Sean O’Malley and rightfully so. Sterlings MMA grappling is levels above other UFC bantamweights. Sterling out grappling Henry Cejudo in his last fight goes to show how dominating he is on the ground.
On the other hand, Sean O’Malley has not been treated on the ground so far. He is one of the best strikers in UFC. But, can he get back up once the fight goes to ground and avoid getting submitted?
Petr Yan did have some success with his wrestling in his fight against Sean O’Malley. And it’s expected that Sterling will expose the flaws in O’Malley’s grappling.
However, not so long ago we saw Leon Edwards outwrestling Kamaru Usman, something nobody could even imagine before their trilogy fight. If O’Malley can come up with a good gameplan and keep the fight standing, use his kicks and long jabs to keep Sterling at the bay, this can be a long night in the office for the champ.
But, it’s safe to say Sterling is the favorite to win this fight. And it’s likely that he will get a TKO finish.
Aljamain Sterling vs Sean O’Malley prediction: Sterling wins by TKO