“Game of inches” – Amidst featherweight rumors, Aljamain Sterling stern on Sean O’Malley rematch to avenge knockout loss 

Aljamain Sterling stalls his featherweight ambitions and looks for a rematch with Sean O'Malley.

“Game of inches” – Amidst featherweight rumors, Aljamain Sterling stern on Sean O’Malley rematch to avenge knockout loss 

Sean O'Malley and Aljamain Sterling

The bantamweight title was snatched away from Aljamain Sterling during UFC 292. Sterling was on his way to making his fourth title defense, but was not successful. He was defeated by the then-number 2 contender, Sean O’Malley. O’Malley is widely known for his striking skills and he showcased his true talent against Sterling. He beat Sterling in the second round with a swift countershot. Prior to his loss, Sterling had been looking to move up to the featherweight division.

After the fight, there were a lot of doubts about the former champ’s next move. Sterling recently confirmed that he would be staying in bantamweight itself. He wrote, “Rematch 2024. Game of inches. I’ll be back“. The Funkmaster is now on the path to gain redemption. As many have said, the fight between the two was actually pretty close. Sterling had good control over the first round, but there was little he could do in the second one. Some even believe that the fight was stopped too early and that Sterling could have made a comeback.

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Before this loss, Sterling had successfully defended his title against three former champions. He is undoubtedly one of the most dominant champions of the bantamweight division. Sterling will now have to find his way back to the top. If he had managed the win over O’Malley, fans would be able to witness him face Alex Volkanovski, the featherweight Champ.

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Suga Sean has personally called out Marlon Vera as his next opponent. Vera is the only fighter to defeat O’Malley in his UFC career. Along with Vera, there are a good number of deserving fighters waiting for their shot at the title. It could take a while for Sterling to get the rematch.

Related: “Read him like a book” – Shocking! Henry Cejudo’s texts to Aljamain Sterling before UFC 292 about Sean O’Malley’s danger will blow your mind

The featherweight division may never witness Aljamain Sterling fight

Aljamain Sterling
Aljamain Sterling (Courtesy-ESPN)

After three consecutive title defenses against three former champions, Aljamain Sterling was confident for his fourth one too. Sean O’Malley did not let him succeed. Sterling was on the mat in the second round itself. Had he defeated O’Malley, the Funkmaster would be the most celebrated champion in bantamweight history. As per the plan, he would then look for a move up to the featherweight.

Sterling has a fight IQ like no other, combined with his flawless grappling. His move to the featherweight would lead him to Alex Volkanovski, the undisputed champion. Fans can only dream about how the match would turn out to be. Volkanovski is currently the number 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC. He himself has declared how much he wanted the fight with Sterling.

Recently, Sterling announced that he would be staying in bantamweight. He looks to regain his lost title. With a lot of other bantamweights looking to do the same, it may be a while till Sterling gets a chance. A featherweight climb seems really far as of now.

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