Sean O’Malley surprised one and all when he defeated the champion, Aljamain Sterling, in the second round of their fight at UFC 292 to get hold of the UFC bantamweight belt. This was obviously the biggest moment of ‘Suga’s’ career to date, but it can also be a turning point for Sterling, as he would have to reassess a lot of things after his unexpected loss in Boston.
In his post-fight interview after the fight, ‘Funkmaster‘ expressed that his opponent outclassed him with his striking and that he has nothing but respect for the new champion. He also talked about his desire to rest for the remainder of 2023 and come back stronger in 2024.
The former champion recently shared a video of himself in which he expressed that he had put on some weight since the fight. Then he weighed himself, and the scale showed 175.5 lbs. This means that Aljo has gained a total of 40.5 lbs. since his fight with Sean OMalley, which was only a week ago. Although massive weight cuts are normal in this sport, fans did not miss this chance to take a dig at Sterling.
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An Instagram user suggested the former champ move up a division, saying, “He must really consider 145″. Another user wrote, “Bro is the professional weight bully”, pointing out the significant weight cut for the fight against O’Malley. A fan was concerned about the fighter’s health as they wrote, That’s not healthy, G..
However, it must be noted that these fighters cut weight frequently for their fights, and while it is not a healthy practice, the whole process is done under the care of nutrition and diet experts.
Aljamain Sterling plans to move up to the featherweight division
Aljamain Sterling, one of the finest bantamweights in the world of MMA, dominated the 135-lb division for quite some time and was thinking about moving up to the featherweight category. He had his reasons to do so, as he had defended his belt three times, and that too against legends like Henry Cejudo, TJ Dillashaw, and Peter Yan. However, then came his fight against Sean O’Malley, which has changed some things for the Funkmaster.
In his interview at UFC 292 with Joe Rogan, Sterling talked about how he will have to rethink his decision to move to featherweight. He said, “If he (Sean O’Malley) caught me like that, I can only imagine what Volkanovski would do”.
Sterling also recently talked about his desire for a rematch with OMalley, but not anytime soon as he wants to rest for the remainder of the year. The former champion has fought four times since April 2022, and all of them have been title fights, so he surely deserves the vacation. What do you think the future holds for Aljamain Sterling? Let us know in the comments down below.