The Moment Sean O’Malley Turned from Contender to Champion

“I still get anxiety watching that fight back, hoping it ends the same way it did”

Publicly, Sean O’Malley entered UFC 292 this past summer overflowing with confidence.

Courtesy Zuffa LLC

O’Malley delighted in entertaining the fans in Boston, vowing he would dethrone reigning bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in unforgettable fashion.

Privately, it was an entirely different situation. O’Malley watched closely as Sterling amassed a 10-fight win streak. The more Sterling was criticized, the more he won. Perhaps he rushed into this bout after defeating former Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo only three months prior, but Sterling entered the title defense against O’Malley healthy and strong.

The same, however, could not be said for O’Malley. He was dealing with a muscle strain right under his rib. Somehow, O’Malley would need to defeat Sterling without any grappling.

“I know what my right hand can do when it lands, and that’s what I needed to do,” said O’Malley. “I knew I had to execute a perfect game plan. That’s hard to do in a fist fight.”

Further complicating matters was the opponent. Sterling is a world-class grappler. The odds of O’Malley not getting taken down were slim to non-existent. And that made it even more stunning for O’Malley when his plan unfolded in the Octagon precisely as he dreamed it the night before in bed.

After five minutes of feeling each other out, Sterling entered the second round looking to strike. He overextended with a left hand, landed off-balance, and O’Malley found his chin in the opening moments of the round.

“That’s not a random schmo, it’s the bantamweight GOAT,” said O’Malley. “Doing it against Aljo, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“I still get anxiety watching that fight back, hoping it ends the same way it did. Every time I watch, it does.”

Courtesy Zuffa LLC

O’Malley celebrated the fall of Sterling with a raucous crowd in Boston, a city with a long affinity for Irish fighters.

“When the UFC told me they wanted to bring that fight to Boston, I was excited,” said O’Malley. “I thought I’d maybe have 80 percent of the fans behind me. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was 99 percent Suga, one percent Aljo. It was insane.

“It’s going to be hard to top that moment. I needed it to be perfect, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Courtesy Zuffa LLC

Next up for O’Malley (17-1, 1 NC) is righting a wrong from earlier in his career on Saturday at UFC 299 when he makes his first defense of the title against Chito Vera. Four years ago, O’Malley (17-1, 1 NC) suffered his only blemish when he lost to Vera.

Vera (23-8-1) pounced after landing a kick to the right leg of O’Malley, a perfectly landed spot in the first round that hit a nerve and left the verbose O’Malley temporarily unable to lift his ankle and toes. That is the kiss of death in the cage, and Vera ended the fight by TKO in the round’s final minute.

“I know I’m better than him,” said O’Malley. “That’s why I never rushed into a rematch against him. It’s been four years [since we fought]. The time is right now, headlining UFC 299 in Miami.

“I’ve manifested most of my career, and this is another moment I manifested. I knew it would happen when it needed to, and here we are, as the headline at UFC 299. This is a crazy card. Petr Yan and Song Yadong in the opener? MVP? Dustin [Poirier]? And you get Suga in the main event.”

As for what–or more appropriately, who–comes next for O’Malley, he is intent on a bout against new featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. In the division, there is no one more deserving than Merab Dvalishvili, a teammate of Sterling and long foil for O’Malley.

Courtesy Zuffa LLC

There are plenty of options for O’Malley’s, permitting he wins on Saturday.

“I planted some seeds and said what I needed to say,” said O’Malley. “That’s not on my mind now. Who is next doesn’t matter until this fight is over. Knocking out Chito is the only thing on my mind.”

There are still questions about O’Malley. Vera is a knockout artist, and this fight is a long-awaited moment for him to carve out a championship legacy.

But O’Malley has once again vowed to silence the doubters. And as he headlines his first pay-per-view as champion, he also promised his hair will be immaculate as he gets his revenge on Vera.

“My hair for the fight requires a 10-hour process,” said O’Malley. “That’s the price you pay for being beautiful.”