'Aljo is legit' - Sean O'Malley claims Aljamain Sterling will not be an 'easy fight' for Petr Yan when they compete in a rematch
Sean O'Malley has provided his assessment of the rematch between the two bantamweight titleholders, Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan.
While speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, O'Malley claimed that Aljamain Sterling will have to do a few things differently in the rematch, compared to what he did in the first fight against the Russian.
"You know, I think Aljo's gonna have to go in there with a different style. A different mindset, game plan, you know. He kind of went out there and emptied his tank early and now going into that fight, he knows he's not going to be able to take out Petr like that way," O'Malley said.
The rising bantamweight star feels that Aljamain Sterling might now be aware that he won't be able to outwrestle Petr Yan.
While Sean O'Malley is predicting a win for Petr Yan in the rematch, he certainly isn't discrediting Sterling and thinks he is "legit" and also considers him the "real deal."
"He's not going to be able to outwrestle him and just do that so. I'm gonna go with Petr but Aljo, he's legit, he's the real deal, he's the champ, #1 spot, whatever, he's up there."
Check out Sean O'Malley on the latest episode of The MMA Hour:
Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan will face one another in a rematch down the road
Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan are expected to fight each other to determine the undisputed champion at 135lbs.
At UFC 259, 'The Funk Master' won the title after being hit with an illegal knee by Yan, leading to the first title change via disqualification in UFC history to occur.
At UFC 267, the pair were set to square off in a rematch, however, Aljamain Sterling pulled out of the fight and was replaced by Cory Sandhagen. 'The Sandman' would lose to Yan in a thrilling fight for the interim title.