"He was struggling" - 'Big' John McCarthy details the one factor where Sean O'Malley surprised Aljamain Sterling
MMA broadcaster John McCarthy has weighed in on the recent Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley fight that took place for the bantamweight title at UFC 292.
In the latest episode of the Weighing In podcast, McCarthy and his co-host Josh Thomson discussed various topics, like the new updates surrounding the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight and Max Holloway's recent comments on the Hawaiian fires.
The duo also spoke about the UFC 292 event that took place on August 19 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Speaking about the main event, McCarthy spoke about how 'Funk Master' had difficulty dealing with the distance and control management skills of O'Malley.
"The way Aljamain was able to come into range [against guys that are good strikers] and get his hands on people and do good work, it was not there," said John McCarthy. He was struggling against the distance and control of Sean O'Malley. I don't blame him, that's not an easy thing to deal with and sometimes, you don't know how bad it's gonna be until it's there and then, he was struggling with it."
Check out John McCarthy's comments from the 16:45 mark below:
Sean O'Malley and Aljamain Sterling locked horns in the main event of UFC 292. The first round was a razor-close affair as both athletes where the volume of strikes from both sides was low.
But things took a huge turn in the next round as 'Suga' proceeded to knock out Sterling and score the biggest victory of his MMA career. The 28-year-old also received a 'Performance of the Night' bonus worth $50,000 for his victory.
Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley: 'Funk Master' looks back at his fight at UFC 292
After being dethroned as the UFC bantamweight king, Aljamain Sterling made an appearance at the post-fight press conference. During his time there, 'Funk Master' spoke about the mistake he made in the fight which Sean O'Malley capitalized on.
Sterling said that O'Malley being more disciplined towards his game plan played a key role in 'Suga' emerging victorious.
"He stayed disciplined to his game plan, and I kind of let trying to be a little bit more of an exciting style for the fans play a factor. We've seen the [Israel Adesanya]-Yoel Romero fight. We've seen bad fights before, where it's like not much happens, because no one wants to make that grave mistake. I made the mistake, Sean capitalized. I paid for it."
At the press conference, Sterling also expressed his wish for a rematch against the O'Malley.
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below (from the 3:17 mark):