Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley next after UFC 288, claims UFC welterweight

Despite having his sole focus on his upcoming bout, a UFC welterweight contender has claimed that Aljamain Sterling will be defending his throne against Sean O'Malley after UFC 288.

The champion is preparing to arguably face his toughest test to date when he welcomes Henry Cejudo back from his three-year hiatus.

'Funk Master' has managed to silence some of the doubters who don't believe he deserves to be champion after a controversial ending to his first Petr Yan clash.

The grappler has since scored a decision victory in his rematch against the Russian and a one-sided win over bantamweight great TJ Dillashaw.

While predicting what's next for the winner of the UFC 288 headliner, Michael Chiesa believes Aljamain Sterling will continue his championship reign and subsequently meet O'Malley in the octagon in his next bout.

"I'm picking Aljamain Sterling to win in the main event... [What's next for him?] It's the money fight, it's the guy at the top of the heap that's not named Merab Dvalishvili. It's Sean O'Malley and it is the fight that makes sense. He's coming off a win over Petr Yan, he's the marquee name in this division, he's one of the superstars in the UFC that's got a lot of eyes on him.

He continued:

It's just kind of a no-brainer, especially when you're not going to face your teammate who's ahead of Sean O'Malley. That's just the fight to make, it's a no-brainer."

Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo is a monumental fight that not only earns the winner bantamweight gold, but potentially has huge implications in the greatest 135er of all-time discussions.

Check out what Michael Chiesa had to say regarding a potential title fight for Sean O'Malley in the video below:

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Sean O'Malley's next fight: When is 'Sugar' expecting to return to the cage?

As he sits on the sidelines waiting for the bantamweight title clash to unfold, Sean O'Malley has given a timeline for when he expects to return and has promised his next octagon appearance will be with gold attached.

Though he would like to be more active, it looks like 'Sugar' may only compete once this year, having not fought under the UFC banner since his three-round war against Petr Yan in October 2022.

As stated by O'Malley himself, depending on how the 135lb title fight plays out between Sterling and Cejudo, fans can expect the 28-year-old to be back in the cage towards the end of the year.