Side-by-Side: Sean O'Malley's KO of Aljamain Sterling a near-perfect mirror image of Conor McGregor's historic 13-second finish of Jose Aldo
Sean O'Malley's knockout of Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 is almost eerily similar to Conor McGregor's iconic knockout of Jose Aldo in 2013 when viewed side by side.
'Sugar' was a sizeable +2 underdog going into his bantamweight title clash against Aljamain Sterling at the UFC 292 headliner on Saturday. While both fighters were mostly measuring each other out in the opening frame, Sterling likely edged out the round by landing a few shots in the clinch in the closing seconds.
O'Malley, meanwhile, displayed exceptional takedown defense, successfully stuffing the few attempts that 'Funkmaster' made before the fight ended abruptly. 'Sugar' dropped Sterling with a beautiful right hand as the champ was rushing in, and followed up with a barrage of punches, forcing the referee to step in.
The knockout, is almost similar to McGregor's knockout of Aldo, to the tee when viewed together. Although that affair had ended in just 13 seconds, 'Junior' was rushing in exactly like Sterling while McGregor caught him whilst on the back foot, exactly like Sean O'Malley.
Watch the clip below:
While the combos were almost identical, it was McGregor's left hand that caught Aldo while 'Sugar' dropped Sterling with a right. The Dubliner's left hand was followed by the exact same punch as O'Malley, although hardly necessary.
The video co-incidentally surfaces at a time when fans are hailing Sean O'Malley for taking over from Conor McGregor as the new UFC superstar.