Sean O'Malley's plan on possibly fighting Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title met with one-word reaction from Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling has recently responded to Sean O'Malley's intention to potentially face Ilia Topuria.

'Sugar' is preparing for his first title defense against former adversary Marlon Vera in the headline bout of UFC 299 on March 9, which is approximately one month after UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is scheduled to defend his title against Topuria in the main event of UFC 298 on Feb. 17. If both Topuria and O'Malley secure victories in their respective fights, O'Malley envisions a champion vs. champion super fight.

During a recent episode of his TimboSugar Show podcast, 'Sugar' stated:

"If he goes out there and beats ‘Volk’, and I go out there and beat ‘Chito,’ that fight’s happening next. That’s just what’s happening."

Check out Sean O'Malley's comments below:

'Funk Master' reacted to O'Malley's remarks on MMA Fighting's Instagram post:

"Sighhh"

Check out Aljamain Sterling's comment below:

Credits: @mmafighting on Instagram

The animosity between O'Malley and 'El Matador' intensified recently when the American referred to Topuria as his "Eddie" on X, drawing parallels to Conor McGregor's historic second divisional title win against then-lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016.

The Georgian-Spanish native provided a nonchalant reply and asserted that following his UFC 298 bout, his next opponent would be 'The Notorious.'

Check out the social media exchange below:

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Sean O'Malley discusses facing Aljamain Sterling while dealing with injury

Sean O'Malley has revealed that he had a pre-existing injury leading up to his fight against Aljamain Sterling.

'Sugar' clinched the UFC bantamweight championship by securing a second-round TKO win over Sterling at UFC 292 last August.

During a recent interview with ESPN MMA, O'Malley stated that he wasn't in optimal condition on the night he secured the belt. He expressed that his ability to showcase a well-rounded game, particularly if the fight went to the ground, would have been considerably compromised:

"Main event, Boston, I had to show up. You know if it would have been; I tried to grapple a little bit. I was not able to grapple at all obviously. I've said that plenty of times but I was able to kickbox. My whole goal going into the fight before I was injured was not to let him take me down."

He added:

"That was the whole gameplan. I wasn't shying away from that. I don't want him to take me down. So after I had the rib injury, that was the gameplan. I literally could not let him take me down."

Check out Sean O'Malley's comments below (2:00):