UFC 292 takes place Saturday at Boston’s TD Garden with Aljamain Sterling looking to become the first bantamweight champion to defend the men’s 135-pound title a fourth consecutive time.
Sterling aims to extend this divisional record against standout striker Sean O’Malley, a rising contender Sterling argues has gotten favourable treatment from Dana White and the UFC all throughout his career en route to this main event title opportunity.
“I want him to pay for everything that he said, all the trash talk, everything, all his Dana White privilege,” Sterling, 34, told gathered media earlier this week at a Q&A in New York. “I didn’t have none of that, and I can’t wait to take it out on him.”
Did O’Malley earn this title shot purely off merit or thanks in part to that “Dana White privilege” Sterling alluded to? The 28-year-old has amassed a hefty online following in recent years as he racked up highlight wins and moved up the rankings, but would he still have been awarded a title shot at this stage of his career if he had an identical resume without some of the name recognition?
It took Sterling 2,569 days from the time he made his UFC debut until his first title shot. He was 11-3 in the UFC, with two of his losses disputed split decisions, was riding a five-fight winning streak and coming off an incredible 88-second submission over Cory Sandhagen before he found himself in a title fight.
O’Malley’s journey to a championship bout, meanwhile, will have taken 2,223 days from the time he was introduced to the masses on Dana White’s Contender Series to when these competitors enter the cage on Saturday, although O’Malley’s path to a title shot was objectively not as arduous as Sterling’s was, but he didn’t get into this position based purely off nepotism.
With that in mind let’s look at O’Malley’s path to UFC 292…
July 18, 2017: Earns UFC contract and goes viral
O’Malley debuted on Dana White’s Contender Series more than six years ago with a 7-0 MMA record, of which six wins were finishes, and was coming off a spinning wheel kick knockout of David Nuzzo on a Legacy Fighting Alliance card two months prior. The fight against Alfred Khashakyan didn’t make it out of the opening round with O’Malley’s accurate counter striking on display.
The walk-off knockout win went viral thanks in part to Snoop Dogg of all people, who provided alternate commentary during one of the card’s broadcasts. As Snoop Dogg went wild backstage, O’Malley hopped on top of the cage, looked down at White and uttered “Welcome to The Sugar Show!” for the first time. White and the UFC have given O’Malley a consistent marketing push ever since awarding him his first UFC contract that night.
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Dec. 1, 2017: Picks up first official UFC victory
Since Dana White’s Contender Series is technically a separate organization than the UFC, O’Malley’s promotional debut was a featured bout on an Ultimate Fighter finale card. It ended with a unanimous decision win over Terrion Ware. O’Malley put on a striking clinic with 84 per cent of the 141 significant strikes he landed being to Ware’s head. Ware went 0-4 during his UFC career.
March 3, 2018: Takes home ‘Fight of the Night’ in PPV debut
After emerging with wins on the Contender Series and on the Fight Night circuit, O’Malley was featured on the UFC 222 pay-per-view main card against Andre Soukhamthath in his next bout. Soukhamthath was 1-2 in the organization at the time and coming off his first win under the UFC banner. O’Malley leaned on his striking advantage in the first and second rounds which ultimately helped him get the nod on the scorecards. He sustained a foot injury in the final round and Soukhamthath came on late with four takedowns and plenty of ground control.
Later that year O’Malley was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission prior to a scheduled UFC 229 bout in October after testing positive for the banned substance ostarine. O’Malley also underwent hip surgery during this time and the layoff ended up lasting two years, so the hype train was derailed until UFC 248.
March 7, 2020: Makes triumphant return after lengthy layoff
O’Malley returned to the cage with more tattoos, a beard and a filled-out frame and looked excellent in his first fight in two years. His striking was crisp and Jose Alberto Quinonez’s defence was no match for the accuracy O’Malley showed at UFC 248. It took him just 2:02 to secure the finish and a Performance of the Night bonus. More importantly, he passed all his pre- and post-fight drug tests.
June 6, 2020: Sets personal record with quick finish
Inaugural WEC bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland was long past his title contention days when he was matched up with O’Malley at UFC 250 and the younger fighter walked off with another Performance of the Night bonus thanks to a first-round knockout. The bout only lasted 1:54, which is his shortest UFC bout to date and was his fastest win since his 93-second MMA debut back in 2015.
Aug. 16, 2020: Sustains first loss plus an injured leg
Many fans have wanted to see a Part 2 to this rivalry. Vera and O’Malley exchanged plenty of words in the leadup to this bout between rising contenders. Vera landed a low leg kick early in the opening round than affected O’Malley’s peroneal nerve and the functionality of his right leg. The fight was stopped after Vera landed some hard ground-and-pound elbows and punches once O’Malley fell to his back but O’Malley has always been able to somewhat put an asterisk beside this loss due to the nature of the finish.
Vera is also set to compete at UFC 292 and O’Malley is on record saying he’d want a rematch with Vera if both emerge victorious on Saturday.
March 27, 2021: Adds another highlight-reel KO to collection
Once his leg had healed up, O’Malley returned against a former touted prospect in Thomas Almeida at UFC 260 and after picking him apart on the feet for the majority of three rounds picked up another huge knockout win to get back in the win column.
July 10, 2021: Batters short-notice replacement opponent
Originally scheduled to face Louis Smolka at this event, the story of this fight was all about O’Malley’s UFC 264 opponent Kris Moutinho and his durability and Rocky-like performance on short notice. The UFC gave Moutinho the chance to make his UFC debut against a rising contender like O’Malley with less than two weeks to prepare. It ended up being target practice for O’Malley who landed 270 significant strikes compared to just 70 for Moutinho.
The fight was 68 seconds away from the final horn when the referee stopped the bout to prevent Moutinho from taking additional damage. Moutinho’s chin ultimately led to this one earning a Fight of the Night bonus despite its lack of competitiveness.
Dec. 11, 2021: Closes out perfect calendar year
O’Malley capped off 2021 with his third consecutive finish at UFC 269. His hands were simply too fast and too heavy for Raulian Paiva, a fighter that had bounced back and forth between the UFC’s 135- and 125-pound divisions and who was removed from the UFC roster earlier this year.
Another Performance of the Night bonus was added to O’Malley’s growing collection.
July 2, 2022: Eye poke leads to no-contest
An accidental eye poke from O’Malley in the second round rendered Pedro Munhoz unable to continue and ended this UFC 276 tilt prematurely. Two of the three judges cageside scored the opening round in favour of Munhoz and although O’Malley was gaining momentum in the second round the inadvertent eye poke resulted in the anticlimactic conclusion. Munhoz was paired with a fighter ranked below him in his next outing, while O’Malley ended up in a marquee matchup with a former champion, which is more clearcut anecdotal evidence the UFC plays favourites with select contenders such as O’Malley.
Munhoz is facing Vera on the UFC 292 undercard in a fascinating matchup of two veteran fighters O’Malley couldn’t defeat when he had the chance.
Oct. 22, 2022: Edges out Yan at UFC 280 to earn title shot
O’Malley’s three-round split decision over former champion Petr Yan was by no means a dominant or one-sided outing yet it undoubtedly proved the fan favourite could truly hold his own versus the top tier of the division. To date this is O’Malley’s only victory over a fighter currently ranked in the top 15 at bantamweight. It earned him his third career Fight of the Night bonus in addition to clinching his title shot.
One thing to note is Yan took O’Malley down six times in that bout. The former champion’s control time was limited to 5:44, sure, however one can imagine just how much more dominant Sterling might be on the ground relative to Yan if the current champ manages to drag, trip, throw or slam O’Malley to the canvas at any point. We will certainly find out at UFC 292.
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