Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley have yet to bury the hatchet after their Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight title showdown last year (Aug. 19, 2024).
O’Malley, 29, ended the reign of Sterling at UFC 292 with a picture-perfect second round counterpunch (watch highlights). Had Sterling not been the champion, there’s a good chance his best friend and fellow top contender, Merab Dvalishvili, would have already fought for the title.
Sterling, 34, has since left the Bantamweight ranks for a run at 145 pounds, which he kicked off successfully with a unanimous decision win over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 last month (April 13, 2024). Meanwhile, Dvalishvili appears to finally be next to challenge for Bantamweight gold. “The Machine” has had fun with the build up to a potential O’Malley fight by making several fun social media videos, and taking verbal shots with predictions. However, O’Malley fired back after the most recent exchange and Sterling wasn’t having any of it.
“I will smash O’Malley inside the cage and then smash his coach outside of the cage,” Dvalishvili tweeted.
“Ima smash your best friend after I beat you. Oh wait nvm already did,” O’Malley responded.
“You’re a sorry ass champion,” Sterling chimed in. “Keep bragging about a handicapped fight to give you the best odds to win. You’re not a real man my guy. Don’t try to duck the number 1 contender again to fight number 15 this time or some other pointless lame fight.”
O’Malley received critique for his first title defense at UFC 299 this past March 2024. Rather than taking on the streaking Dvalishvili, O’Malley rematched his old rival, Marlon “Chito” Vera, who defeated him in their first clash at UFC 252 in August 2020. Vera entered the bout off of only one victory since his split decision loss to Cory Sandhagen one fight prior. O’Malley scored redemption with a shutout unanimous decision win over their five rounds together (watch highlights).