UFC 292 saw a new bantamweight champion emerge, as Sean O’Malley got the better of Aljamain Sterling in the second round. The fight started a bit slow, as both fighters tested the range in the first, but it soon picked up in the second and came to a conclusion when O’Malley timed his right to perfection after dodging Sterling’s left, putting him on the ground.
The accuracy of that punch was followed by a barrage of hammer fists, which finally convinced the referee, Marc Goddard, to step in. At the post-fight press conference, Dana White declared that it was a sellout fight with 18,293 seats occupied at the TD Garden. This resulted in a gate fee of $7.25 million, making it the highest-grossing event in the arena’s history, excluding the NBA finals. Incidentally, O’Malley vs Sterling was also the biggest bantamweight championship fight globally in terms of PPV, according to White.
Moreover, the fight of the night was Brad Katona vs. Cody Gibson, and the performance of the night went to O’Malley and Zhang Weili. Consequently, they both took home an extra $50,000 for the same. The UFC boss had this to say about O’Malley’s performance.
“He went in there and delivered tonight. “He knocked him out. We were all thinking how this guy stops Sterling? He’s not going to be able to stop the takedown. Maybe he’ll do it a couple of times, but all night? Cejudo couldn’t. But styles make fights, but he (Sterling) got caught, and he got stopped.”
Sean O’Malley’s stardom takes on a new height after at UFC 292
According to White, O’Malley didn’t become a star after this fight, because he was already a star. The flamboyant fighter’s rise to further stardom continues after the terrific performance, which was incredible, considering Sterling was on a 10-fight winning streak that included 3 title defenses. Many were of the opinion that O’Malley was fast-tracked to the title fight owing to his popularity, which is aided by his antics outside the ring.
SEAN O’MALLEY DID THAT! 🤯 #UFC292 pic.twitter.com/vI0dSi1rFC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 20, 2023
Even if that were true, he certainly silenced his critics and proved he deserves all the praise he’s been proffered. Following this win, ‘The Suga Show’ will continue with a likely battle against Merab Dvalishvili in the future. But first, he wants a rematch against Marlon Vera.
The fight will have another interesting angle considering Dvalishvili is a teammate of the former champion, Sterling. In the past, the two teammates had vowed not to take on each other, which also resulted in Sterling’s decision to move up a weight class after his fight against ‘Suga.’ Will the ‘Funkmaster’ stick to his decision after this result? We’ll have to wait and watch.