When [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] gets his shot at the UFC bantamweight title, he envisions it will be against [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag].
Sterling (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) is projected to defend the title against the returning [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] next, according to Cejudo’s manager Ali Abdelaziz. The pair even faced off during Friday’s 2022 PFL Championships event.
You come at the King, you best not miss 👑 #bendtheknee ✍️🏽 pic.twitter.com/sdZNUEl58M
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) November 27, 2022
Sterling has reiterated that he sees O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC)Â as a bigger fight, but “The Suga Show” isn’t sure if that’s the only reason the champion has been so dismissive of fighting Cejudo.
“Henry’s ready to go. I believe that,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “I think Henry is wanting to fight. I think he’s coming back. Aljo doesn’t want that fight is what I’m seeing. I don’t know if he doesn’t want that fight because he thinks it’s a tough matchup, or he doesn’t want that fight because he doesn’t want to get back into fight camp.”
[lawrence-related id=2599170,2594899,2594676]
Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) would return for the first time since May 2020 and attempt to reclaim the bantamweight title he never lost. Although the former UFC dual champ was on a tear before retiring, O’Malley agreed with his coach, Tim Welch, that Sterling’s activity will play in his favor.
Sterling notched his second title defense when he scored a dominant second-round TKO of ex-champ T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280 in October.
“I think he (Sterling) subs him too … it’s gonna be a sweet fight regardless,” O’Malley added. “Me vs. either of them is massive. It’s gonna be f*cking epic. It could me a main event. It’s f*cking exciting sh*t right there.”
[vertical-gallery id=352477]