Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley face-off at UFC 288 labeled distasteful by Cody Stamann (Exclusive)
Cody Stamann doesn't think the recent post-fight octagon faceoff between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O'Malley at UFC 288 was tasteful or necessary. Ahead of his bantamweight bout against Douglas Silva de Andrade this weekend at UFC Charlotte, 'Spartan' weighed in on the controversial staredown.
UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling recently defeated Henry Cejudo via split decision to defend his title at UFC 288. Soon after the fight, 'Funk Master' raucously called out 'Suga' for his next challenge. O'Malley stepped inside the cage, and they had a fiery nose-to-nose faceoff.
Sean O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling exchanged words in the octagon at #UFC288 https://t.co/DfJPjR0JnE
Merab Dvalishvili also cheekily stole Sean O'Malley's red jacket during their staredown and wore it with a smile to troll the next title challenger. While the intense staredown became a widely discussed conversation among MMA fans, Cody Stamann thinks that it was distasteful and reminded him of something that would happen in the WWE.
In an exclusive interview with Andrew Whitelaw of Sportskeeda MMA, 'Spartan' was asked for his thoughts on the scuffle. He answered:
"So many people were hitting me up... What the f**k is going on... This is like some weird WWE stuff. It just wasn't a tasteful thing. You have two super cringe dudes that are trying to make some noise. Obviously, they sold the fight... The only cool thing about it was Merab stealing O'Malley's jacket."
Catch Cody Stamann's comments below (7:18):
Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley: 'Suga' predicts the results of his title fight against 'Funk Master'
After his shocking yet controversial victory against Petr Yan at UFC 280, Sean O'Malley solidified his claim for a title shot. Now undefeated in his last five outings, 'Suga' will challenge Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title in his next bout.
Dana White says that he wants to book Aljamain Sterling vs Sean O’Malley for August for #UFC292 in Boston #UFC288 https://t.co/zE9Pzg1zCD
The No.2-ranked bantamweight recently shared his prediction for the fight. While he recognized Aljamain Sterling as the greatest bantamweight of all time, O'Malley claimed he will pick Aljamain Sterling apart when they share the octagon.
In a recent interview with 'The Schmo,' O'Malley stated:
"His awkwardness is effective but I think it will be the downfall of him because I am a sniper. You can't walk forward like that with me and cross your feet with your chin in the air because I will find it, and I will find it often. I’m not saying I’m gonna go out there and one-shot him... I believe that I will hit him over and over again to where he will fall."
Watch the full interview below:
Catch UFC on ABC 4: Rozenstruik vs. Almeida live on Sony Sports Network in India from 12:30 AM this Sunday, May 14.