Tag: Aljamain Sterling

UFC 292 fighter salaries: Zhang Weili nets more than both Sean O’Malley, Aljamain Sterling in title defense

UFC 292 fighter salary Zhang Weili tops list ahead of Sean O'Malley and Aljamain SterlingA disclosed list of fighter pay salaries for this month’s UFC 292 pay-per-view event at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts has been released, with undisputed strawweight champion, Zhang Weili netting more than both newly-minted bantamweight best, Sean O’Malley, and former gold holder, Aljamain Stelring.  Co-headlining the flagship event in ‘Bean Town’, Chinese gold holder, […]

UFC 292 fighter salary Zhang Weili tops list ahead of Sean O'Malley and Aljamain Sterling

A disclosed list of fighter pay salaries for this month’s UFC 292 pay-per-view event at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts has been released, with undisputed strawweight champion, Zhang Weili netting more than both newly-minted bantamweight best, Sean O’Malley, and former gold holder, Aljamain Stelring. 

Co-headlining the flagship event in ‘Bean Town’, Chinese gold holder, Zhang Weili successfully defended the strawweight crown for the first time as part of her second title reign – landing a one-sided unanimous decision win over surging Brazilian challenger, Amanda Lemos.

In the night’s main event, Dana White’s Contender Series alum, O’Malley minted himself as the undisputed bantamweight champion with a spectacular second round win over the defending, Sterling – landing a series of hammering ground strikes to turn in a second round TKO win.

And despite the hugely-backed O’Malley’s champonship-clinching win, the Montana native missed out on the top spot for disclosed salaries at UFC 292, with Hebei native, Weili topping the charts.

Zhang Weili tops the disclosed fighter salary list for her title defense at UFC 292

Below, check out the full list of disclosed salaries from UFC 292, made available by the Massachusetts Officie of Public Safety and Inspections, upon request from MMA Fighting.

Sean O’Malley ($500,000 + no win bonus) vs. Aljamain Sterling ($500,000)

Zhang Weili ($520,000 + no win bonus) vs. Amanda Lemos ($250,000)

Ian Machado Garry ($50,000 + $50,000 win bonus) vs. Neil Magny ($134,000)

Mario Bautista ($43,000 + $43,000) vs. Da’Mon Blackshear ($27,000)

Marlon Vera ($155,000 + $155,000) vs. Pedro Munhoz ($150,000)

Brad Tavares ($100,000 + $100,000) vs. Chris Weidman ($426,000)

Gregory Rodrigues ($50,000 + $50,000) vs. Denis Tiuliulin ($14,000)

Kurt Holobaugh ($15,000 + $15,000) vs. Austin Hubbard ($32,000)

Brad Katona ($32,000 + $32,000) vs. Cody Gibson ($15,000)

Andre Petroski ($18,000 + $18,000) vs. Gerald Meerschaert ($100,000)

Natalia Silva ($40,000 + $40,000) vs. Andrea Lee ($70,000)

Karine Silva ($14,000 vs. $14,000) vs. Maryna Moroz ($50,000)

Dana White slams Merab Dvalishvili for avoiding Aljamain Sterling title fight: ‘You should be somewhere else’

Merab Dvalishvili told to fight somewhere else Dana White avoid title fightUFC president, Dana White has hit out at surging number two ranked division contender, Merab Dvalishvili – after the Georgian made it entirely clear he had no intention of fighting his training partner and friend, Aljamain Sterling, whether that be for a title or not, under the banner of the UFC. Dvalishvili, who has won […]

Merab Dvalishvili told to fight somewhere else Dana White avoid title fight

UFC president, Dana White has hit out at surging number two ranked division contender, Merab Dvalishvili – after the Georgian made it entirely clear he had no intention of fighting his training partner and friend, Aljamain Sterling, whether that be for a title or not, under the banner of the UFC.

Dvalishvili, who has won his last nine consecutive fights under the promotion’s banner, most recently landed a completely one-sided unanimous decision win over fellow European talent and former undisputed bantamweight champion, Petr Yan in a March headliner.

Undergoing a surgical procedure to address a hand injury in the time since, Dvalishvili has shot down the idea of a championship fight with the aforenoted, Sterling – before the Uniondale native dropped his crown to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 earlier this month courtesy of a stunning second round TKO loss.

Dana White claims Merab Dvalishvili should compete elsewhere

Questioned about his thoughts on Dvalishvili’s decision to pass up on a title fight with Serra-Longo MMA stablemate, Sterling, White claimed that the Georgian should consider fighting elsewhere if he retained that attitude.

“Everybody in this room, and everyone watching this video knows how I feel about this sh*t,” Dana White said of Merab Dvalishvili during his media availability after the Contender Series. “I hate it. Why did you even get into this sport? If that’s your mentality and the way that you think: ‘I don’t want the title, I don’t want the championship, we’re friends, we’re this, we’re that,’” 

“This is not about friendship,” White explained. “This is about finding out who the best in the world is, and if you don’t want to find out who the best in the world is, this is not the place for you. You should be somewhere else. There’s plenty of places to fight where they don’t give a sh*t what you do. It doesn’t work here.” 

Off the back of Sterling’s title loss to O’Malley, Dvalishvili claimed he would now be ready to compete at UFC 296 in December against the Montana native, in an undisputed bantamweight championship fight. 

Do you agree with Dana White’s stance on the surging Merab Dvalishvili?

Exclusive – TUF 31 winner Brad Katona talks future clash with Sean O’Malley, reveals when he plans to fight again

KatonaTUF 31 winner Brad Katona is already chomping at the bit to get back inside the Octagon and take advantage of his second chance with the promotion. On August 19, Katona made history by becoming the first competitor to win The Ultimate Fighter not once, but twice. The SBG Ireland product originally won season 27 […]

Katona

TUF 31 winner Brad Katona is already chomping at the bit to get back inside the Octagon and take advantage of his second chance with the promotion.

On August 19, Katona made history by becoming the first competitor to win The Ultimate Fighter not once, but twice. The SBG Ireland product originally won season 27 of the long-running reality series in 2018 but was released after dropping back-to-back bouts against Merab Dvalishvili and Hunter Azure. Four years later, Katona earned himself another shot by scoring a spot in the latest season of the series.

Katona took full advantage of the opportunity, landing three straight wins, including an absolute barnburner against Cody Gibson in the tournament final at UFC 292.

Following his big win, Brad Katona sat down with Danny Podolsky in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview to discuss his return to the UFC, and most importantly, what comes next.

“The goal remains the same. We’re chasing that UFC belt,” Katona said. “I’ve worked with a very good sports psychologist, Dr. Jason Brooks, and he wanted a lot about this fight to be us shrinking it down. We can talk about the accolade. You win the Ultimate Fighter twice. That’s so cool and you’re back in the UFC, but that’s not our end goal.

“We really looked at the best bantamweight in the world. We want to be chasing that title and that helped us shrink down this opportunity to what it was. If we’re living up here with the world champions, Cody Gibson is down here. And that’s nothing against Cody, but that’s just where we’re living. That’s how we’re operating. That’s the level of excellence that we need to keep up.

“So what am I doing next? I’m doing exactly that. I’m living up here with the very best of them and working backward from there. And what does that look like? Well, there’s a big pay-per-view in December. If that opportunity comes up, absolutely. Let’s hop on that. If there’s a Canadian card, awesome. Let’s do that as well.”

Brad Katona Comments on Sean O’Malley’s Shocking UFC 292 Knockout of Aljamain Sterling

The same night that Brad Katona secured his second contract with the promotion, Sean O’Malley shocked the world with a stunning second-round knockout of Aljamain Sterling in the UFC 292 main event. Asked for his thoughts on the crowning of a new bantamweight world champion, Katona said:

“I think it was very impressed with what [O’Malley] did. How can you not? The thing that made Aljamain Sterling the champion is his ability to show up consistently at the highest level. Anybody can have a night here or there, but he shows up consistently and wins fights against the best bantamweight in the world.

“Then when Sean O’Malley goes and knocks him out, that’s a feat,” Katona continued. “I think Sean O’Malley is an extremely intelligent guy. He surrounds himself with a lot of great people. He has a great team behind him and it’s not by accident. You see the Sean O’Malley smoking weed with the hair. You see the clown act, but it’s an act. If you think that’s what he’s doing day in and day out, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was back to work on Monday. He seems like that type of guy. Very intelligent.”

As for how he would match up with O’Malley in a potential fight, Katona believes he brings many of the same threats to the Octagon that Aljamain Sterling does, but with significantly better boxing.

“I think I offer a lot of the similar threats that Aljamain does,” Katona continued. “Maybe not the size. I’m not as tall and long as him, but I got striking. I got hands and I think I’ve got all those things. Aljamain didn’t quite have the boxing, hence he overextended and walked into that shot. It was a beautiful shot, but it was from, I believe, Aljamain Sterling’s lack of boxing. Maybe some desperation to get to the ground. That’s what you’re not going to find with me.

“I think I match up well with O’Malley, but again, my job is to do exactly what Aljamain does. Perform at the highest level consistently, and that’s what I’m focused on.”

Sean O’Malley believes title fight rematch with UFC rival Aljamain Sterling ‘Could definitely happen’

Sean O'MalleySean O’Malley definitely sees himself once again sharing the Octagon with Aljamain Sterling someday. On August 19, O’Malley scored the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career, blasting the ‘Funk Master’ with a beautiful counter right hand that sent Sterling crashing to the canvas in the opening minute of round two. Seconds later, the […]

Sean O'Malley

Sean O’Malley definitely sees himself once again sharing the Octagon with Aljamain Sterling someday.

On August 19, O’Malley scored the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career, blasting the ‘Funk Master’ with a beautiful counter right hand that sent Sterling crashing to the canvas in the opening minute of round two. Seconds later, the fight was waived off and O’Malley would be dubbed the new bantamweight world champion.

Moments after landing the highlight-reel finish in the UFC 292 main event, Sean O’Malley was already looking toward the future, calling out the only man to beat him inside the Octagon, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.

As it stands, there is a bevy of potential title challengers chomping at the bit to get their shot at the new 135-pound king. Merab Dvalishvili, Cory Sandhagen, and Henry Cejudo, to name a few. But no matter who Sean O’Malley shares the Octagon with for his first title defense, ‘Sugar’ believes it’s just a matter of time before he crosses paths with Aljamain Sterling once again.

“He has a medical suspension from the fight. If my timeframe plays out the way I want it to be, I’ll be fighting in December,” O’Malley said during an appearance on The Jim Rome Show.” Therefore, there’d be no rematch there. Me and Aljo could very well meet up. I do think him moving up to 145 makes sense. He’s a very big guy. He’s not going to be outpowered at 145. He’s very strong. Very physical. He’s gonna have better grappling than a lot of those guys at 145.

“Who knows, we could even meet at 145 someday. I know he’s getting up there a little bit in age, but to be honest, Aljo is still in his prime. Three and a half months ago he beat Henry Cejudo, but he just got caught. But I think with Aljo, that fight could definitely happen sometime down the line in the future.”

Pending a rib injury sustained during his UFC 292 headliner, Sean O’Malley plans on closing out his year at UFC 296 when the promotion presents itself final pay-per-view of 2023. No official announcements have been made regarding the date or his potential opponent, but all signs point toward O’Malley running back his 2020 clash with ‘Chito’ Vera. If that fight does not come to fruition, top-ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili has already confirmed that he will be ready to go by December 16 should ‘Sugar’ need an opponent.

Who do you want to see Sean O’Malley defend his bantamweight title against first?

New bantamweight champ Sean O’Malley is truly living his best life following epic UFC 292 knockout

Sean O'MalleyNewly crowned UFC bantamweight world champion Sean O’Malley is truly living his best life following the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career. On August 19, O’Malley stepped into the main event spotlight at UFC 292, determined to hand Aljamain Sterling his first loss in more than five years. In the end, it took […]

Sean O'Malley

Newly crowned UFC bantamweight world champion Sean O’Malley is truly living his best life following the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career.

On August 19, O’Malley stepped into the main event spotlight at UFC 292, determined to hand Aljamain Sterling his first loss in more than five years. In the end, it took ‘Sugar’ less than two rounds to do just that, blasting the ‘Funk Master’ with a vicious counter right hand that sent Sterling crashing to the canvas. Moments later, Sterling was face down on the mat and O’Malley’s hand was being raised.

In the days removed from his highlight-reel-worthy win, Sean O’Malley has been living it up. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, ‘Sugar’ conducted his entire interview while soaking in a bathtub surrounded by stacks of cash and UFC gold. Today, O’Malley was spotted on social posing with his new hardware. And nothing else.

With his decisive win over the man that many believed to be the greatest bantamweight in the history of the division, Sean O’Malley scored his first appearance on the UFC’s pound-for-pound list, occupying the No. 8 spot. His victory also caused a slight shift in the bantamweight rankings with Aljamain Sterling taking the No. 1 spot while Merab Dvalishvili slipped into the No. 2 slot.

As for what comes next, Sean O’Malley immediately called for a rematch with the only man that has defeated him inside the Octagon, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. The proposal would see the two men run it back this December at UFC 296, but recent rumors have suggested that Aljamain Sterling is already in line for an immediate rematch in early 2024.

A third option would see ‘Sugar’ take on Dvalishvili, though it appears that ‘The Machine’ is content to sit back and see how things play out with O’Malley’s first title defense. And then, of course, there’s always Henry Cejudo. The former two-division titleholder is usually lurking in the shadows, looking to snatch himself another shot at UFC gold despite coming up short in his return bout with the ‘Funk Master’ in May.

Who would you like to see Sean O’Malley square off with for his first title defense?

Aljamain Sterling eyes 2024 title rematch with Sean O’Malley after KO loss at UFC 292: ‘I’ll be back’

Aljamain Sterling eyes title rematch with Sean O'Malley in 2024 I'll be back uFCOff the back of his stunning second round loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 over the course of last weekend, Aljamain Sterling has made his intentions clear for the future; a championship rematch with the outspoken Montana native. Headlining at the TD Garden last Saturday in Boston, Massachusetts, Sterling suffered a stunning second round […]

Aljamain Sterling eyes title rematch with Sean O'Malley in 2024 I'll be back uFC

Off the back of his stunning second round loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 over the course of last weekend, Aljamain Sterling has made his intentions clear for the future; a championship rematch with the outspoken Montana native.

Headlining at the TD Garden last Saturday in Boston, Massachusetts, Sterling suffered a stunning second round TKO loss against O’Malley – falling to a massive counter right hand, and follow-up ground strikes from the Dana White’s Contender Series.

The defeat saw Uniondale native, Sterling’s stunning nine fight winning run, which included a record-setting three successful title defenses against former champions, Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw, and earlier this year, Henry Cejudo.

Initially laying out plans for a title-fight at the featherweight limit against pound-for-pound number one and division champion, Alexander Volkanovski, Serra-Longo MMA staple, Sterling has now seen those plans entirely shut down by the Australian.

“Gotta feel for Aljo (Aljamain Sterling), man,” Alexander Volkanovski said. “I mean, what does he want to do? He’s definitely going to want that rematch [with Sean O’Malley]. That’s a big, big fight. [Him vs. me] that’s not happening. You never know, if he would have had a big win he could have took Ilia’s [Topuria] spot, but [he didn’t win].”

Aljamain Sterling plots rematch with Sean O’Malley next year

Eyeing up a continued run at bantamweight as a result, Sterling announced plans overnight, for a title re-run with O’Malley as soon as next year.

“Rematch 2024,” Aljamain Sterling posted on his official X account. “Game of inches. I’ll be back.” 

As for O’Malley, the surging knockout artist had initially welcomed an immediate title fight rematch with former-foe, Marlon Vera – as soon as this December, in fact.

However, this week, the newly-crowned champion has now claimed that if Vera is insistent on plotting his future, he would skirt a rematch and instead chase a title defense with the aforenoted former duel-weight champion, Cejudo. 

Would you like to see Aljamain Sterling rematch Sean O’Malley next year?