What is going on between Dana White and Aljamain Sterling? Explaining Sean O'Malley's tongue-in-cheek reaction to their feud

Sean O'Malley recently responded to Aljamain Sterling expressing his gratitude towards Dana White and other top-level UFC executives with a bit of whimsical banter.

Bantamweight champion Sterling recently got into a war of words with White over the timing of his next title defense against O'Malley at UFC 292 in August. 'Funk Master' defended his title in a five-round battle against Henry Cejudo earlier this month and, despite lingering injuries, is booked to fight again in less than four months.

After Aljamain Sterling expressed his concerns about another title defense in August being too quick a turnaround, Dana White offered to set up an interim title fight instead and chastised the bantamweight champion for making it seem like he's backing out after building up a fight against O'Malley.

Dana White escalates feud with Aljamain Sterling, slams him for his ‘why can’t you give credit’ accusations 👀

🔗sportskeeda.com/mma/dana-white…

#UFC #MMA | @ufc https://t.co/hNcaROrQpB

Right when it seemed like tempers were flaring up, 'Funk Master' decided to clear the air and practically confirmed that he'll show up on August 19. He then thanked Dana White, Hunter Campbell, Sean Shelby, and Mick Maynard for changing his life via a tweet.

FTR, I got nothing but love for Dana, Hunter, Sean, and Mick. These guys gave me a platform to change my life. I’ll forever be grateful for that and I don’t want that to ever be lost in translation. #4TimeFunkLoading…

Sean O'Malley saw the chance to troll Sterling and humorously took advantage of the champion using only the UFC executives' first names in his tweet. While Sterling was referring to UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby in his tweet, O'Malley joked:

"Thanks champ love you too."

@funkmasterMMA Thanks champ love you too

Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley: Coach Tim Welch claims the UFC wants 'Suga' to dethrone 'Funk Master'

Aljamain Sterling is set to face his next title defense against Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 in August.

Sterling has the most consecutive wins in the history of the bantamweight division and the most consecutive title defenses. A win over 'Suga' will give him the most total title defenses in divisional history. However, the bantamweight champion has been involved in a war of words with Dana White over the past few days, over the promotion disrespecting his accomplishments as a UFC champion.

While the promotion's president has denied any such claims, Sean O'Malley's coach Tim Welch recently insisted that the UFC is rooting for his star pupil to snatch the title away from Aljamain Sterling.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Welch explained why the UFC would rather have Sean O'Malley as the bantamweight champion. He stated:

"Yeah. For sure. Having 'Suga' be the champion... I mean, what other bantamweight in history has just one-punched people and walked off like Mark Hunt?... 'Suga' is a big superstar and the UFC helped with that so I'm sure the UFC would love to see a KO artist that's as flashy as Sean be the champion."

Tim Welch feels the UFC "for sure" wants Sean O'Malley as champion 🏆 #TheMMAHour

"A bantamweight, a tall skinny kid with tattoos and curly hair, one-punching people and walking off. The UFC knows what they’re doing."

▶️ youtube.com/watch?v=5vJ5yO… https://t.co/nKeSxnA1BU