Sean O’Malley (17-1-1, 12 KOs) began his rule over the UFC bantamweight division with a loud bang. Suga Sean ended Aljamain Sterling’s (24-3-0, 3 KOs) two-year championship reign with a second-round KO for the ages at UFC 292 held at TD Garden on Saturday.
O’Malley caught Sterling with a killer right cross as the latter lunged forward to try to land a blow. O’Malley then rained hammer fists on Sterling until referee Marc Goddard was forced to stop the fight in favor of the challenger.
“Honestly, this was the most nervous I’ve ever been for a fight,” O’Malley told Joe Rogan during the postfight interview. “In my eyes, Aljamain Sterling is the best bantamweight of all time. So yeah, I was a little bit nervous for this fight. But I never lost the confidence because I know what I possess in this f—ing right hand, baby.”
O’Malley’s devastating right hand counter had social media buzzing, with several fighters and athletes hailing the new champion.
Even one of O’Malley’s rivals in Dillon Danis could not do anything but praise him for the masterful knockout victory.
The knockout left several fans marveling at Suga Sean’s technical prowess and power.
A few fans were also seeing a resemblance between O’Malley’s KO win with that of Conor McGregor against Jose Aldo back in 2015. Both wins also won each fighter a championship belt.
After winning the Bantamweight championship, O’Malley appears to have his sights set on revenge. His lone loss in 18 fights was against Chito Vera back in August 2020. O’Malley told Joe Rogan after the fight that he wants to face Vera—who won his undercard bout against Pedro Munhoz—in December.
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