August 20, 2023 1: 34 am ET
Sean O’Malley strolls out of Boston as the brand-new UFC males’s bantamweight champ after making great on his guarantee to surface Aljamain Sterling.
O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) endedupbeing the 2nd Dana White’s Contender Series veteran to win UFC gold after stopping Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) in the primary occasion of UFC 292 at TD Garden. The authorities time of the interruption for the bantamweight title battle was 0: 51 of Round 2.
With 25 minutes to work, neither fighter dedicated to much early on. The feel-out procedure lasted for a bulk of the round, as they took turns managing the center of the cage, while offering single strikes at a time, mainly leg kicks. Sterling was able to grab a hold of O’Malley’s leg late in the round to initiate a clinch, and land some brief punches priorto the fighters returned to their corners.
The action chose up rapidly in the 2nd round. O’Malley slipped after a kick in the opening seconds, which offered Sterling an opening to appearance for a takedown. Sterling was fast to get in on the legs, however O’Malley slipped away.
A minute lateron, Sterling hurried in with a left hand, and O’Malley landed a laser of a right counter to sendout him to the canvas. O’Malley followed up with huge hammerfists as Sterling tried to stay in it, however the referee saw sufficient and called a stop to the battle.
SEAN O’MALLEY DID THAT! 🤯 #UFC292 pic.twitter.com/vI0dSi1rFC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 20, 2023
“Doubt me now!” O’Malley duplicated as he strolled around the octagon while waiting for the authorities choice to be checkout.
During his post-fight interview, O’Malley confessed his anxiety ahead of the battle, while revealing regard to Sterling by once onceagain calling him the finest bantamweight in the world. He then turned his attention to considering a rematch versus Marlon Vera, who won a consentaneous choice over Pedro Munhoz earlier on the primary card.
That right hand simply altered @SugaSeanMMA’s life permanently! #UFC292 pic.twitter.com/x8heIwZk2r
— UFC (@ufc) August 20, 2023
O’Malley gotin on the heels of a split choice win over previous champ Petr Yan at