“It is kind of ridiculous!” Aljamain Sterling SLAMS Sean O’Malley for looking past Merab Dvalishvili and call out Ilia Topuria

Sean O’Malley dominantly beat Marlon Vera at UFC 299 and secured his first bantamweight title defense. Soon, he called out the featherweight champion Ilia Topuria for a super fight. This callout received huge criticism from many since the #1 contender, Merab Dvalishvili, waited in the lines for a title shot. Now, former champion Aljamain Sterling voiced out for his friend Dvalishvili.

In his latest YouTube video, Aljamain Sterling emphasized Sean O’Malley should’ve called out Merab Dvalishvili and not Ilia Topuria. Despite ‘Suga’ avenging his only loss, Sterling pointed out it was pointless in terms of rankings and credibility. Here is what he said:

(Sean O'Malley) should've called out Merab (Dvalishvili) and did the right thing. I think (calling out Ilia Topuria) kind of ridiculous. You defended the belt against a guy who wasn’t even ranked in the top 5, they moved him up to the top 5 to make it look like he was better...Yeah you won, but you won against a guy that we were all expecting you to beat. So as a champion, it’s hard for me to put a lot of stock in that because I just can’t respect it as much.

Aljamain Sterling (Via YT-FunkMasterMMA)

Further, Aljamain Sterling vouched for his teammate and friend Merab Dvalishvili to get his deserved title shot. ‘The Machine’ has a ten-fight win streak and beat three former champions. Also, he made weight as the backup fighter for the UFC 299 headliner to ensure he fights for the title next. As such, Sean O’Malley calling out Ilia Topuria has enraged Dvalishvili and Sterling.

Also, Sean O’Malley and the UFC already looked past Merab Dvalishvili when booking the bantamweight champion’s first title defense. Arguably, Dvalishvili deserved the challenger spot more than Marlon Vera. But, the UFC rolled with ‘Suga’ wanting to avenge his only loss. As such, Aljamain Sterling couldn’t handle O’Malley ignoring his teammate once again.

Sean O’Malley replies to Aljamain Sterling’s comments

Former champion Aljamain Sterling recently commented on his thoughts about Sean O’Malley defeating Marlon Vera. He didn’t credit ‘Suga’ for his dominant performance and stated Vera shouldn’t have gotten the title shot in the first place. This received a taunting response from O’Malley.

Sean O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling fought at UFC 292. O’Malley produced an upset win to become the 135lbs champion. O’Malley knocked out ‘The Funkmaster’ in the second round. As such, listening to Sterling’s recent criticism, O’Malley brought up his win over him to mock the former champion. Here is what he said:

Wonder his thoughts on the last guy I knocked out. lolz jokes.

Sean O’Malley (via X)

Although there were criticisms about Sean O’Malley’s choice of opponent for UFC 299, there was almost none for his performance. O’Malley flawlessly won the fight against Marlon Vera. He was expected to face Merab Dvalishvili next, but his callout to Ilia Topuria has changed the preconception. As such, he might face either of them next. As for Aljamain Sterling, he moved up to featherweight after the loss to O’Malley and will face Calvin Kattar at UFC 300.

In case you missed it:

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• French President Emmanuel Macron sends praise to Benoit Saint-Denis for fighting through infection at UFC 299 despite KO loss

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