5 biggest winners from UFC 292: Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley

The UFC visited Boston for a major pay-per-view last night, and to say the event ended in a bang would be an understatement.

UFC 292: Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley saw a new champion crowned in the headliner, while a handful of other fighters claimed big victories too. With a number of them likely to climb the rankings, then, this should prove to be a pivotal show to look back on.

Here are the five biggest winners from UFC 292: Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley.

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#5. Karine Silva – defeated Maryna Moroz in a UFC flyweight bout

Karine Silva is now a contender at 125lbs [Image Credit: @karine_killer_ufc on Instagram]

It almost went unnoticed given that it opened the preliminary portion of last night’s event, but Karine Silva’s win over Maryna Moroz was easily one of the most impressive on show.

‘Killer’ was already considered one of the better prospects in the promotion at 125 pounds after finishing both of her first two octagon opponents via submission. However, few could’ve figured she’d look as good as she did last night.

Not only did the Brazilian knock Moroz down with a left hand, but she then went onto secure a tight guillotine choke from a scramble, cranking on it despite ‘The Iron Lady’ attempting to defend.

Moroz actually ended up tapping with one second remaining in the round, making Silva the first fighter to ever finish her. More to the point, ‘Killer’ also avenged a loss from back in 2014, before either woman was in the UFC.

With three octagon wins to her name, it’s almost certain that Silva will climb into the flyweight rankings next week. Even though she didn’t secure a $50k bonus, she was definitely one of the night’s big winners.

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#4. Marlon Vera – defeated Pedro Munhoz in a UFC bantamweight bout

Marlon Vera's win over Pedro Munhoz might be enough to net him a title shot [Image Credit: @chitoveraufc on Instagram]

Marlon Vera might not have finished Pedro Munhoz last night, but it’s hard to suggest that ‘Chito’ should be considered anything but one of UFC 292’s biggest winners.

That’s because the native of Ecuador remains the only man to ever stop brand-new bantamweight kingpin Sean O’Malley in the octagon, meaning he could be in line for a title shot soon.

Vera looked back to his very best last night, recovering from an iffy first round to basically abuse Munhoz with heavy punches set up with his stiff jab.

In the end, once the final buzzer sounded, the result was pretty clear. ‘The Young Punisher’ looked badly busted up, as opponents that face Vera tend to, and did well not to be knocked down or stopped.

Should Vera receive the next shot at the gold? It makes perfect sense, particularly with Cory Sandhagen, who beat ‘Chito’ earlier this year, on the shelf.

Whether Vera can repeat the feat and take out O’Malley for a second time is questionable, but the fact that he’s in position for that kind of shot makes him a huge winner from last night’s event.

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#3. Ian Machado Garry – defeated Neil Magny in a UFC welterweight bout

Ian Machado Garry destroyed Neil Magny's legs [Image Credit: @ufc on Twitter]

Outside of the two title fights, the man who made the biggest mark last night was clearly Ian Machado Garry.

‘The Future’ moved from hot prospect to bonafide title contender in the welterweight division by absolutely dismantling veteran gatekeeper Neil Magny over three rounds.

Garry’s low kicks basically destroyed Magny’s legs throughout the bout. While ‘The Haitian Sensation’ survived the barrage, the scores of 30-26, 30-26 and 30-24 told the story of how one-sided the affair was.

Sure, the win should come with a slight caveat as Magny took the fight on late notice to replace Geoff Neal, but very few fighters have dealt with him as easily as the Irishman did here.

Given that Garry is still only 25 years old, it’s safe to say that he hasn’t come close to his peak yet. To see him holding the UFC welterweight title in the future would not be a shock, and he should definitely be considered one of last night’s big winners.

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#2. Weili Zhang – defeated Amanda Lemos to defend the UFC strawweight title

Weili Zhang shone in her title defense against Amanda Lemos [Image Credit: @ufc on Twitter]

Most fans expected Weili Zhang to hold onto her strawweight title last night when she faced Amanda Lemos. The Brazilian challenger’s octagon record stood at a decent 7-2, but she’d never really done anything to suggest she could unseat ‘Magnum’.

However, not all that many people would’ve expected the fight to be quite so one-sided. Outside of an early D’Arce choke attempt, Lemos basically had nothing for the champ.

Zhang took her down at will, hammered her with heavy shots on the ground and never really ceded control. The fifth round saw her drop the challenger, and while she couldn’t quite finish her off, the result was never in doubt.

Was this as impressive as the Chinese fighter’s title win over Carla Esparza? Perhaps not, but it clearly marked her out as the best 125lber on the planet right now, and that – as well as a bonus $50k – makes her one of last night’s biggest winners.

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#1. Sean O’Malley – defeated Aljamain Sterling to win the UFC bantamweight title

Sean O'Malley downed Aljamain Sterling in violent fashion [Image Credit: @ufc on Twitter]

There can be no doubt that last night’s biggest winner was easily Sean O’Malley. Not only did ‘Sugar’ become the first graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series to claim gold in the octagon, but he did it in incredible fashion, too.

Many fans figured that O’Malley would have no chance against the stifling grappling game of champion Aljamain Sterling, but in the end, that wasn’t the case at all.

‘Sugar’ used some impressive timing, hand-fighting and feints to largely avoid Sterling’s takedown throughout the first round.

Nobody could’ve foreseen what was about to happen in the second, though. As Sterling overextended on a left hand, O’Malley countered with a perfectly-timed right that simply crushed ‘Funk Master’.

In a scene reminiscent of Conor McGregor’s famous win over Jose Aldo, the champ fell down face-first, and moments later, a series of heavy follow-up shots and hammer fists saw the bout stopped.

This wasn’t just a regular title win, though. O’Malley has long had the UFC’s promotional machine behind him, and the fact that they quickly uploaded footage of the entire knockout to social media was quite telling.

If he can hang onto the title, it’s likely that ‘Sugar’ will become the promotion’s new poster-boy, and that means he’s likely to make millions of dollars, too. He might not just be last night’s biggest winner, he could be the biggest winner of 2023, point blank.