"They're kind of similar" - Sean O'Malley on potential title fight between Aljamain Sterling and T.J. Dillashaw
Sean O’Malley recently gave his take on UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling’s potential fight against T.J. Dillashaw.
In an edition of The BrOMalley Show, Sean O’Malley and his brother Daniel O’Malley discussed the Sterling-Dillashaw matchup that’s reportedly being targeted for UFC 279 on September 10th.
Insinuating that it’'d be tough to predict who would win the fight, ‘Sugar’ stated:
“I don’t really know how I see that one playing out. It’s too fresh in my mind. I gotta think about it for a little bit. They’re both unorthodox strikers – not unorthodox, but ‘Aljo’ is a little more unorthodox with his stance. I don’t know. They’re kind of similar! They’re kind of similar, with ‘Aljo’ being more wrestle-heavy. Super interesting fight.”
Additionally, Sean O’Malley brought up the fact that Dillashaw returned to MMA last year after serving a two-year suspension due to steroid (EPO) use. ‘Sugar’ also highlighted that Dillashaw is coming off a closely-contested split decision win over Corey Sandhagen, whom he beat last July.
The former UFC bantamweight champion is back! 😤
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TJ Dillashaw gets the victory over Cory Sandhagen via the judge's scorecards! 👏
#UFCVegas32 https://t.co/N3LxwsOls5
'Sugar' isn’t mad at Dillashaw for possibly securing a title shot, despite the former champion’s suspension and resultant two-year layoff and his close fight against Sandhagen that could’ve gone either way. O’Malley said:
“You can’t be mad. Dillashaw won against Corey on the cards… Yeah, huge layoff. So, this [Sterling vs. Dillashaw] is going to be an interesting fight.”
Furthermore, O’Malley indicated that neither Sterling nor Dillashaw were big enough draws to headline a pay-per-view card on their own. ‘Sugar’ opined that the UFC would likely have another title fight headline UFC 279 or have another title fight serve as the co-headliner at UFC 279 to help boost the event’s sales.
Watch 'Sugar' discuss a potential Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw matchup in the video below:
Aljamain Sterling claims his fight with T.J. Dillashaw hasn’t been finalized, open to facing Henry Cejudo
Bantamweight star Sean O’Malley is scheduled to face Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 on July 2. Meanwhile, Aljamain Sterling recently asserted that he still hasn’t signed a contract to fight T.J. Dillashaw next.
A bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw is being targeted for UFC 279 on Sept. 10, sources confirmed with @marcraimondi.
First reported by MMA Junkie, and location is to be determined. https://t.co/HBNACRzwD3
In a recent edition of his podcast, The Weekly Scraps, Aljamain Sterling explained that he considers both Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo as potential opponents for his next outing. Emphasizing that he’s willing to face any big-name adversaries, including Dillashaw and Cejudo, Sterling noted:
"There is no fight until there's ink on paper. And as of right now, my contract is exactly the same… I'm here to chase history, I'm here to make money, and they're all big-name fights, but we have to make sure the agreement is right."
Watch the full video below: