"He lacks the strategy part" - Dan Hardy explains how difference in appraoches could be the decider in Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley

Sean O'Malley is set to take part in the most important fight of his entire career this Saturday. At UFC 292, he'll face off against Aljamain Sterling for the UFC bantamweight championship in what will be his first-ever UFC title fight. Thus, he is expected to come in as well-prepared as he's ever been for a fight.

It's clear to everyone that Sean O'Malley's strength is in the stand-up department. According to former UFC welterweight and popular MMA analyst Dan Hardy, Aljamain Sterling—while a better grappler than 'Sugar'—lacks the strategic efficacy to contend with the rising bantamweight superstar on the feet.

In a recent video uploaded to his Dan Hardy | Full Reptile YouTube channel, he said (at 13:42 minutes) as much while analyzing the upcoming bout:

"Tactics is knowing what to do when there's something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there's nothing to do, and that is the challenge when you're fighting someone like Petr Yan, who doesn't open up. The challenge here for Aljamain Sterling is to figure out what Sean O'Malley's strategy is. And within Sean O'Malley's strategy, he has tactics to make sure the strategy's successful. Aljamain Sterling has tactics, but I think he lacks the strategy part."

To strengthen his point, Dan Hardy brought up Aljamain Sterling's past struggles against Petr Yan in their infamous bouts. Given his observations, he believes that there is a possibility 'Funk Master' will encounter difficulties against 'Sugar' come fight night.

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Do Sean O'Malley and Aljamain Sterling have opponents in common?

One method of comparing two foes is analyzing how they've performed against opponents they have in common. As things stand, Aljamain Sterling and Sean O'Malley have two of those. They have both faced Petr Yan and Pedro Munhoz, and 'Funk Master' was victorious against both of them.

Sterling defeated Yan via disqualification in their first encounter, but was dominated for much of the bout. He mounted a far better effort in their rematch, winning via split decision. Meanwhile, he previously defeated Pedro Munhoz with relative ease. Like his foe, Sean O'Malley defeated Petr Yan via controversial split decision.

However, O'Malley's matchup with Pedro Munhoz was even more controversial, as it ended in a no-contest after 'Sugar' poked the Brazilian in the eye, rendering him unable to continue.