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Sean O'Malley took on Aljamain Sterling in the main event at UFC 292 on Saturday. While O'Malley had definitely proved himself to be capable of hanging with the bantamweight elites with a decision win over Petr Yan, 'Sugar' was a sizeable underdog going into the matchup.
O'Malley displayed excellent takedown defense and distance management in however long the fight lasted, which perhaps played a part in its abrupt end. After carefully weighing each other out in the opening frame, O'Malley stunned the world by flooring Sterling with a right hand that will go down in the history books. 'Funkmaster' was rushing in to close the distance, seemingly in a bit of desperation, when O'Malley caught him flush whilst on the retreat.
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A barrage of brutal follow-up punches forced the stoppage as Sean O'Malley announced his arrival to even greater heights of stardom amidst the electrifying atmosphere at the TD Garden in Boston. O'Malley's right hand certainly stole the show with many comparing it to Conor McGregor's iconic left hand that knocked out Jose Aldo in 2015.
Footage has now emerged of 'Sugar' rehearsing the exact same shot right before the fight with his longtime friend and head coach from The Combat Lab, Tim Welch.
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Watch the clip below:
Sean O'Malley might have lost if Aljamain Sterling took him down
Sean O'Malley claimed that he was the most 'nervous' he's ever been going into his UFC 292 clash against Aljamain Sterling, whom 'Sugar' acknowledges at the bantamweight GOAT. O'Malley subsequently revealed that there was more to the reason behind his nervousness.
The newly crowned UFC bantamweight champ claims to have not put in any mat work in any form in the last six weeks after injuring a muscle near his ribs. 'Sugar' knew it was imperative for him to keep the fight on the feet as there was no telling how his injury would fare in the ground game, which is Sterling's bread and butter. The 28-year-old said during the post-fight presser:
“I was the main event in Boston. There was no shot I was pulling out, but we haven’t grappled. Six weeks from today I got a muscle strain right under my rib. Coming into this fight against Aljo, every interview I was saying ‘it was life or death — I cannot get taken down.’ It was because I didn’t know if this would hold up."
Catch Sean O'Malley's comments below:
