"I think that's who's next" - Sean O'Malley discusses next potential opponent for Aljamain Sterling
Sean O'Malley believes Aljamain Sterling's next title defense should be against former champion T.J. Dillashaw.
'Funk Master' successfully defended the belt against Petr Yan at the UFC 273 pay-per-view. Following his impressive split decision victory over Yan, Sterling called out former two-time titleholder Dillashaw.
Aljamain Sterling is leaving Jacksonville with the BW belt 🏆
[ @FunkMasterMMA | #UFC273 ] https://t.co/eynrozrTLQ
According to 'Sugar', a matchup between Dillashaw and Sterling makes sense next. He believes the fight will be intriguing and contrary to Dillashaw's thoughts, O'Malley doesn't think Sterling will be an easy opponent for the 36-year-old.
O'Malley did go on to praise Dillashaw for having beaten elite bantamweights in the past and claimed he's excited to see a potential scrap between the Californian and 'Funk Master'.
Calling out a BW legend!
🇯🇲🏆 @FunkMasterMMA has @TJDillashaw in his sights after unifying the titles! #UFC273 https://t.co/qUXKESMXFX
In a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, O'Malley stated:
"T.J. Dillashaw versus Aljo... T.J. was saying Aljo's an easy fight than everyone he's fought, sucks. T.J. fought better guys [is] what he's saying. It's an interesting fight. I don't think Aljo's an easy fight, you know, for anybody... T.J. is f***ing good dude, you know, he proved for that without the needle... that he could compete at that highest level and it was impressive. I'm excited for that fight. T.J. versus Aljo's sick fight I think. Hopefully [it happens] sooner [rather] than later... I think that's who's next."
Watch the full video below:
T.J. Dillashaw claims he's fought tougher competition than Aljamain Sterling
T.J. Dillashaw isn't worried about facing Aljamain Sterling inside the octagon. According to the former bantamweight champion, 'Funk Master' is an elite fighter but isn't a 'championship caliber' one.
Dillashaw claimed that because Sterling doesn't have many finishes in his career, he won't pose a huge threat to him when he shares the cage with the bantamweight king down the line.
During a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Dillashaw said:
"He's good, don't get me wrong. He's got attributes. He wouldn't be where he's at without being good, but he's definitely not champion caliber. The guys I've fought in the past were much better than he is, a lot more dangerous. There's no danger in fighting Sterling. Has he ever knocked someone out? I don't even know. He's a guy you don't have [anything] to be worried about."
Catch the full interview below:
Dillashaw has won five out of his last six fights inside the octagon. In his last outing, the 36-year-old picked up a hard-fought win against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Vegas 32.