“I was the sacrificial lamb…” Aljamain Sterling reveals UFC’s response when asked for Sean O’Malley rematch

Aljamain Sterling recently revealed why he did not hold out for a bantamweight title rematch after losing at UFC 292.

“I was the sacrificial lamb…” Aljamain Sterling reveals UFC’s response when asked for Sean O’Malley rematch

Aljamain Sterling reveals UFC denied him immediate rematch with Sean O'Malley (Image via Imago )

Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling recently revealed something interesting about his lost championship title. Reportedly, the UFC refused to grant Sterling his rematch against Sean O’Malley after he lost the title to him at UFC 292. This forced him to move up in weight class to fight Calvin Kattar this April at UFC 300.

Aljamain Sterling had requested the UFC for an immediate rematch against Sean O’Malley. He recently sat down to fulfill his UFC 300 media day duties. There, he revealed the UFC 292 aftermath discussion regarding a potential rematch with O’Malley. Aljo revealed feeling bitter about the whole situation.

No it was not, unfortunately, it was not. I did ask for it, but I was told ‘No we can’t do that’. I am not bitter about it. Like I said, O’Malley just took an opportunity that the UFC gave him and made the most of it. Unfortunately for me, I was the sacrificial lamb.
Aljamain Sterling via UFC 300 media day
YouTube video

Aljamain Sterling controversially won the bantamweight title when he defeated Petr Yan at UFC 259. Following this, he broke the bantamweight consecutive title defense record with three successful back-to-back title defenses. Sterling stepped into the octagon last year against Sean O’Malley for a fourth potential title defense. However, UFC 292 did not go as he hoped it would. Aljo’s accomplishment should have earned him another shot at the title. However, the UFC chose to go in another direction.

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The UFC considers O’Malley to be a potential superstar. As such, they matched O’Malley up with his former opponent, Marlon Vera. They felt a revenge storyline between O’Malley and Vera would result in better business than Sterling fighting O’Malley again. In the end, O’Malley vs. Vera 2 broke the live gate record in Miami. Meanwhile, Sterling decided to move to the featherweight division.

Aljamain Sterling wants a featherweight title shot directly after UFC 300

Alajamain Sterling declared his intention to move to the featherweight division around December last year. Kattar ranks #8 in the UFc bantamweight rankings. However, Sterling has now revealed that he intends to shoot for the title fight upon victory at UFC 300.

Aljamain Sterling wants title shot after featherweight debut at UFC 300
Aljamain Sterling wants title shot after featherweight debut at UFC 300 (Image via Imago )

A reporter asked Sterling at the recent UFC press conference if he could directly fight for the title after beating Kattar. Sterling replied by stating title contender opportunity would depend on if could defeat Kattar convincingly like how Max Holloway did. Sterling called back to division champion Ilia Topuria‘s interview with Megan Olivi, where he said that there was no challenge and poor level of competition in the featherweight division.

It remains unlikely that Sterling will become a title challenger after just one win at featherweight. Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Movsar Evloev remain ahead of him. Even if Aljo dominantly defeats Kattar, he would not leapfrog Volk, Holloway, or Evloev. Will we see a potential matchup between Aljamain Sterling and Ilia Topuria after UFC 300? It could only happen if these above contenders have an injury and Sterling remains the only available option.

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