"This would not be a super easy fight for me" – Aljamain Sterling talks about the challenges in a potential fight against Sean O'Malley
Following Sean O'Malley's UFC 280 victory over Petr Yan, the No.1-ranked bantamweight seems destined to challenge Aljamain Sterling for the title. The current bantamweight champion shared his thoughts on the potential fight.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, FunkMasterMMA, Sterling stated:
"This would not be a super easy fight for me with O'Malley. Don't get it twisted. Don't think just because I did what I did and Yan took him [O'Malley] down that you guys think it's gonna be easy. You have to get to those positions... You have to close the gap on a guy who's so much longer than I am, and he's got the leverage."
Sterling went on to detail how O'Malley may elude his efforts and praised 'Sugar's wrestling:
"All O'Malley needs to do is turn to his knees, but he will give up his back, yeah, so he's gotta make sure he's quick, but it'll be hard for me to take him down the same way Yan took him down. He was able to get his hands down and was pretty much able to get back up in not too much of a difficult way of getting back to his feet."
Sterling's comments show that he believes O'Malley to be a dangerous opponent. While many believe that 'Sugar' isn't deserving of a title shot yet, the bantamweight champion seemingly disagrees.
Watch Aljamain Sterling's comments on facing Sean O'Malley below (starting at the 10:22 mark):
Aljamain Sterling shared that he believes Petr Yan was robbed against Sean O'Malley
Sean O'Malley's UFC 280 split-decision victory over Petr Yan created plenty of controversy, as many felt that Yan had won the fight. Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling also shared his opinion on the outcome of the Yan-O'Malley fight.
UFC280 Official Scorecard: Petr Yan vs Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA)
All Scorecards: ufc.ac/3CWSM8t
[@VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi] https://t.co/gW4o2BI7ua
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Sterling stated:
"I felt bad for Yan. I felt like he got - did think he got robbed. I think O'Malley was a little shocked and perplexed at the decision as well. I think it kind of caught him off-guard that it was a split decision. I think it caught him more off-guard that he won."
While O'Malley did land 84 significant strikes compared to Yan's 58, he was also taken down six times and his opponent totaled nearly six minutes of ground control.
Official stats for O'Malley's win over Yan. https://t.co/IW8jCZpfLR
Watch Aljamain Sterling discuss Sean O'Malley's controversial UFC 280 win over Petr Yan below (starting at the 41:53 mark):