Aljamain Sterling: Dana White Happy "Golden Goose" Sean O'Malley Won UFC Title
Aljamain Sterling believes that Sean O'Malley winning the bantamweight title at UFC 292 was a result that Dana White was happy to see.
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The bantamweight title fight between Sterling and O’Malley that headlined UFC 292 in Boston was one of the promotion’s biggest matchups of the year. “Funk Master” was attempting to defend his belt for a fourth time, but when he was dropped by a counter shot in the second round it allowed O’Malley to finish things off with strikes on the ground.
“Sugar” was already growing into a major star for the UFC even before he claimed the bantamweight title, and this week Sterling told Ariel Helwani that arguably nobody was happier to see O’Malley become UFC champion than the head of the promotion.
(Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)
“I know [Dana White] was definitely happy,” Sterling said on The MMA Hour. “How could he not be? The golden goose won…At the end of the day, I think we all knew the writing was on the wall and it was just up to me just to stick to the script. The one mistake I knew studying tape, I literally gave it to the guy on a silver platter.”
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Sterling’s reign as UFC champion was unfortunately marred by controversy from the moment he won the belt via disqualification at UFC 259. Even after building a case as the GOAT of the bantamweight division the 34-year-old struggled to gain favor with fans and openly questioned whether or not the promotion was behind him.
“Funk Master” was planning on moving up to featherweight after UFC 292 in order to clear the bantamweight title picture for his teammate Merab Dvalishvili, but Sterling appears to have put those plans on hold in order to pursue a rematch with O’Malley.
It's currently unclear what the UFC has planned for O'Malley's first title defense, but the newly-crowned champion does seem eager to avenge his only career loss by taking on Marlon "Chito" Vera.
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