Sean O'Malley takes a shot at Henry Cejudo over Aljamain Sterling fight on their podcast before dropping off
Sean O'Malley has not entered the octagon since UFC 299 in March when he defeated Marlon 'Chito' Vera via unanimous decision to defend his bantamweight title for the first time. He will make his return this weekend when he faces Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306, headlining the promotion's first event at the Las Vegas Sphere.
'Suga' recently made a brief appearance on Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo's podcast, Pound 4 Pound, taking a joking shot at the latter before quickly leaving, stating:
"Boys, you guys know I'm a very, very busy man. I'll keep this short. I came here for two reasons. One, to praise you Kamaru, you're an absolute legend. And two, Henry, how did you let [Aljamain Sterling] take you down so easy? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, you're welcome!"
Check out Sean O'Malley's brief appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast below (starting at the 0:43 mark):
O'Malley closed his computer after the short statement, leaving the interview altogether. Aljamain Sterling defeated Cejudo, who had returned from a three-year hiatus, via split decision at UFC 288 last May, landing four takedowns en route to victory. 'Funk Master' made a quick turnaround, returning just over three months later to face 'Suga' at UFC 292, losing the bout via second-round TKO.
Sean O'Malley claims Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili are not as close as it seems
Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili have a close friendship as the pair famously opted not to face one another. Sean O'Malley recently suggested that the two may not be as close as they have led the public to believe. Speaking to TMZ Sports, the bantamweight champion claimed 'Funk Master' should not give advice to 'The Machine' before adding:
"Aljo probably hopes I beat Merab. It makes Aljo look better. I'm just curious if Merab was happy that I knocked out Aljo because if I didn't knock out Aljo, Merab still would be waiting around. So, I have a little theory that maybe they're not as good as buddies as we all thought."
Check out Sean O'Malley's comments on Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili below (2:20):
It should be noted that there is nothing that suggests a rift between the two long-time friends and training partners. Furthermore, Sterling had shared that he was planning to move to featherweight whether he won or lost against O'Malley at UFC 292.