UFC Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling believes his upcoming title defence against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 is ‘personal’.
The 34-year-old is scheduled to fight ‘Sugar‘ this weekend at Boston’s TD Garden in the event’s headlining bout. The duo have exchanged many heated verbals with each other throughout history, with this now being settled in the octagon.
Sterling first claimed the 125 lb title over two years ago with a controversial DQ victory over Petr Yan. An illegal knee connected with ‘Funkmaster‘s chin towards the end of the fourth round, and he was subsequently handed the belt.
This was met with frustration from many fans, with many describing Sterling as an ‘actor’ following the knee. The American has since put together a record nobody can argue with, beating Yan once again and following this performance with victories against notorious duo T.J. Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo.
Aljamain Sterling Talks Sean O’Malley
In the lead up to UFC 292, Sterling has forced O’Malley’s professional record into scrutiny.
He told TMZ: “Let’s be honest, there’s only one guy that he’s actually beaten by a split decision that’s still in the UFC and that’s Petr Yan.
“Everybody else, they’re no longer in the UFC company. I mean you can look at my resume and everyone’s still here. I beat a lot of good quality guys and I think that’s all got me to this point, made me battle-tested.”
O’Malley overcame Yan last time out, and similarly to Sterling it came in controversial fashion via a questionable split decision. Prior to this, ‘Sugar’ underwent a no-contest bout against Pedro Munhoz due to a second round eye poke.
Sterling continued: “Obviously Sean wants this [win] really really bad to validate himself finally, as a worthy person in this UFC bantamweight division.
“We’ll see if Sean tries to poke my eyes out the same way he did Pedro Munhoz.”
Is Sterling vs. O’Malley Personal?
O’Malley stepped into the octagon to face-off with Sterling following the latter’s impressive title defence against Cejudo. This only added fuel to the fire between the duo, who are now set to settle their differences.
‘Funkmaster‘ was asked if there were any potent ill-feelings between the pair.
He said: “There’s always respect afterward but in the beginning, it’s personal.
“You’re trying to take something from me and you’re trying to do something to me that’s not the nicest. That’s usually what happens. We’ll see what type of emotions happen after the fight, we’ll see how the fight plays out.”
MMA enthusiasts around the globe will be eagerly anticipating UFC 292’s main event this Saturday, as Sterling once again looks to defend his title against the best the bantamweight division has to offer.
Do you believe Aljamain Sterling will beat Sean O’Malley? How real do you think their ‘beef’ is? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
