Sean O'Malley Reacts To Aljamain Sterling Saying UFC 292 Bout Is Against His Will

The "Sugar" Show responds to Aljamain Sterling.

Fernando Quiles Jr. | Jul 10, 2023

Sean O'Malley Reacts To Aljamain Sterling Saying UFC 292 Bout Is Against His Will /

Sean O'Malley has reacted to bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling's recent gripes with the UFC brass.

Sterling will be putting the UFC Bantamweight Championship on the line against O'Malley at UFC 292 on August 19. The "Funk Master" has taken issue with how UFC President Dana White and UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell handled the title bout, as Sterling felt the promotion made it seem like he didn't want to fight O'Malley. The 135-pound titleholder went as far as to say he took the O'Malley fight against his will.

During an episode of the "BrOMalley Show," Sean O'Malley questioned how Aljamain Sterling could feel he took the fight against his will.

"I don't understand," O'Malley said. "I mean, just say you can't fight and then they make an interim belt and then you fight me after I win that. He doesn't wanna risk me not winning the interim belt and then him not getting the pay-per-view is what I'd assume. They wanted me in Boston. That's f****** no surprise. Me in Boston, I'm f****** 68.8 percent Irish. So, I'm pretty f****** Irish. So, if he said, 'no' and they did me vs. whoever they would've done for an interim, then he could've fought the winner in December. Could've been a possibility, but he didn't for whatever reason."

This will be O'Malley's first UFC title opportunity. As for Sterling, he'll get the chance to extend his record for the most successful consecutive bantamweight title defenses in UFC history.

Aljo’s face when O’Malley walks past him 😳 #UFC290 pic.twitter.com/NWAi7w5pcK
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 9, 2023

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Published Jul 10, 2023

FERNANDO QUILES JR.

Fernando has over a decade of combat sports news writing experience. He currently covers MMA, boxing, and pro wrestling. Fernando joined MMA Knockout as the Lead Writer/Editor when it was founded in 2023.