Tag: Aljamain Sterling

Henry Cejudo: Sean O’Malley just relies on striking, will be ‘in trouble’ vs. Aljamain Sterling

Henry Cejudo expects Aljamain Sterling to have his way with Sean O’Malley at UFC 292.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] expects UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] to have his way with [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag].

Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) defends his title against O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in the UFC 292 headliner Aug. 19 at TD Garden in Boston.

Cejudo is coming off a split decision loss to Sterling at UFC 288, where he was taken down four times. So if Sterling was able to take down the Olympic gold medalist wrestler, Cejudo doesn’t see how O’Malley could stop him.

“I do believe Aljamain Sterling’s gonna press him, get him against the cage,” Cejudo said on “Smack Talk With Sandhu.” “If he’s able to take me down, he could take any of those guys down. So Sean’s gonna be in trouble. Sean just relies on his striking. I’m sure he works on the jiu-jitsu, but in MMA it’s just different. I do believe that Sterling’s gonna get on top of him and pretty much just hurt him.”

Although Cejudo lost to Sterling, he was able to land three takedowns of his own. “Triple C” closed out the fight strong in Round 5 but admits the previous rounds were all very close.

“It was control the distance,” Cejudo said of his game plan. “But at the same time, I also knew that if he was gonna be rangy and a little tricky, that I was going to kind of do Mexican style, bring the pressure, but I don’t know. I’m not too happy about my performance.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Aljamain Sterling responds to Dana White, takes umbrage with lack of credit: ‘I’ve done everything the UFC has asked’

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling clears the air about his Boston fight and takes exception with public treatment from Dana White.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] admits he’s not on the same page with his promoter, but he’d like to be going forward.

UFC president [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] recently announced UFC 292 for Aug. 19 in Boston, which he said will be headlined by Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley. Days later, however, Sterling indicated he needs to heal up before the fight can happen.

Following Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 224 event in Las Vegas, White used an incredulous tone as he spoke about Sterling in reference to the UFC bantamweight champion’s next title defense.

“Aljo’s one of those guys that just can’t get out of his own way,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “Apparently, he’s in for the fight. Why he said that, who knows? The fight is on. The fight is absolutely, positively on.”

Sterling responded in a video on the “The Weekly Scraps” podcast Monday and questioned why White and the UFC don’t give him the credit and respect he thinks he’s earned.

“If you want me to be the bad guy, tell me behind closed doors, behind the scenes, ‘Aljo, this is what we’re going to do. This is the script. Here it is. … This is what we see. This is what the fans are picking up on you. Why don’t we just take this and turn the volume up and accelerate the noise and make this as crazy as possible,'” Sterling said. “I’m with it. You guys know I like to play a character. I’ll be him.

“Let me be the character, but get me in on the joke. Let’s get on the joke together, but not when you’re going to keep doing this stuff and then making me look like I’m a b*tch. No, you’re not going to keep doing that, dog. F*ck out of here. Dana, get out of here with that.”

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Should Sterling fight O’Malley on Aug. 19, it’ll be his second title fight in approximately three months – an atypically quick turnaround for a champion. Sterling confirmed he plans to fight, continuing what he sees as a trend of entertaining the UFC’s requests.

“Every single time they’ve asked me to fight, I’ve saddled up, put my nuts on the table, and showed up every single time. And I won,” Sterling said. “It’s just like, at what point do I get credit from the UFC and Uncle Dana? Dana is super nice behind closed doors, but then he tells me I can’t get out of my own way. I’m like, ‘What does that even mean?’ Just clarify what that means.”

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Sterling doesn’t understand why White does raise him up in moments like Saturday’s news conference. Sterling thinks White’s answer was a long, winding roundabout to what he says is the correct answer: the fight will happen Aug. 19. It’s just a matter of how White got there that irks him.

“Why is it so hard for Dana to go… ‘Absolutely the fight is done. We spoke to him. This kid has always shown up to the fight. He always makes weight. He does all the media stuff. We know he’s going to show up. Yeah, he just fought two weeks ago. He’s a little banged up but he gave us his word he’s going to show up for this fight. The kid is a killer. The kid is a stud. Isn’t he awesome?’

“The same way he goes for Conor (McGregor) when Conor does something, ‘Oh my god, isn’t he awesome? Isn’t he awesome?’ Like, can I be awesome, too, Dana? … I’m not asking for much. … Stop playing with my name, bro. If we’re going to do this together, let’s get on the same page. Let’s do this sh*t the right way. ”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Sean O’Malley’s coach: Aljamain Sterling ‘most dangerous bantamweight champion there’s ever been’

Tim Welch, who trains Sean O’Malley, clearly isn’t taking UFC champ Aljamain Sterling lightly.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]’s coach has very high praise for UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag].

O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is scheduled to challenge Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) for the 135-pound title in the UFC 292 headliner on Aug. 19 at TD Garden in Boston.

It’s clear that O’Malley’s head coach, Tim Welch, is not taking Sterling lightly. In fact, he called Sterling the toughest test O’Malley could face.

“Stylistically, this is the most dangerous bantamweight champion there’s ever been,” Welch told ESPN. “I really think that. He’s just so athletic, he’s long, he’s strong. He’s not just a good wrestler; he’s a good wrestler with good jiu-jitsu, and he’s very funky. He switches stance, throws spazzy things at you. He’s good at chaining his wrestling together. He’s the most dangerous bantamweight there’s ever been in my opinion.”

Welch explained that Sterling’s ability to control a fight is what makes him so good.

“If you make one simple mistake, he’s going to be on your back the whole time,” Welch said. “His cardio has gotten better. He’s not only good at grappling, but he’s good at MMA grappling, too. He’s going to be good at mixing it up. The timing is going to be right when he’s ready to start punching you, then he’s ready to keep advancing to half guard, then try to mount you and force you to give up your back. He’s just very good physically and technically.”

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Welch said O’Malley, who is a striking specialist, is no stranger to having to fend off takedowns and will be prepared for Sterling’s attack.

“If anybody’s going to (beat Sterling), ‘Suga’s’ going to be able to do it,” Welch said. “His whole career, the game plan against Sean has been to pressure him and get him on the fence and take him down. His whole career has been that way.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Spinning Back Clique: Thoughts on Ngannou to PFL, UFC big fight bonanza, McGregor update, more

Watch this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” breaking down Francis Ngannou landmark PFL deal, the UFC’s big fight bonanza, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week’s panel of Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and Brian “Goze” Garcia will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

  • Former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] officially ended his free agency after signing a landmark deal with the PFL that will pay him an undisclosed minimum purse, the freedom to pursue boxing, a leadership role as the head of PFL Africa, and more. There’s never been a fighter contract like this in the history of mixed martial arts. Is this a game-changing deal and just how much of game changer is it?
  • On the same day of the Ngannou signing, the UFC announced a bonanza of big fights that will take place this summer at UFC 291 and UFC 292. First at UFC 291 on July 29 in Salt Lake City, [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] and [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] will rematch for the “BMF” title in the night’s headliner; the man card also includes [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]’s light heavyweight debut vs. [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] in the co-headliner, Paulo Costa’s return vs. Ikram Aliskerov, Tony Ferguson vs. Bobby Green, and Michael Chiesa vs. Kevin Holland. Then at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston, two title fights will headline as bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag], and strawweight champ [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] meets [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]. Which of these fights stands out most?
  • According to [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the former UFC champ-champ is expected to join the drug testing pool any day now (“immediately”), which would clear the way for his return before the end of the year to fight fellow “TUF 31” coach Michael Chandler. What should be the stakes for the matchup?
  • Another Sterling fight booking, another set of questions after the 135-pound champ cast some doubt about competing Aug. 19 at UFC 292, saying he agreed verbally but his “body has to agree.” In response, UFC president [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] said Sterling “can’t get out of his own way” but assured he will fight, and O’Malley said he’ll fight whoever they put in front of him, which leads you to believe an interim title situation could arise if Sterling doesn’t make it. Does Sterling vs. O’Malley feel forced at this point compared to other champions who had more time between fights?
  • [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] was very active on social media last week, not only throwing shade at Ngannou after his PFL deal was announced but also engaging in a back-and-forth with boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and issuing a (silly) challenge of sorts. What do you make of Jones’ overall vibe from last week?

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (May 16-21)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from May 16-21.

Dana White assures Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley is on for UFC 292, says Sterling ‘can’t get out of his own way’

Dana White says Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley is absolutely happening at UFC 292.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] says [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] is absolutely happening at UFC 292.

Earlier this week, the promotion announced that bantamweight champion Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) will defend his title against O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in the Aug. 19 headliner at TD Garden in Boston.

Sterling, who’s fresh off a title defense over Henry Cejudo two weeks ago at UFC 288, said he plans on seeing if he’s physically fit to compete in August, prompting O’Malley to say he’s fighting for the belt regardless on that date. Upon hearing Sterling’s statement, Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) called White offering to fight O’Malley, but White insists that Sterling vs. O’Malley is the matchup that will happen.

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“Henry Cejudo calls me and says, ‘This little p*ssy doesn’t want to fight, I’ll take the fight. I’m throwing my hat in right now. Let’s do it, I’ll fight O’Malley,'” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC Fight Night 224 post-event news conference. “So Hunter (Campbell), is my neighbor, comes over to my house and says what’s going on?

“And I think we got his manager on the phone and stuff like that, it’s just Aljo’s one of those guys that just can’t get out of his own way. Apparently, he’s in for the fight. Why he said that, who knows? The fight is on. The fight is absolutely, positively on.”

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O’Malley’s title fight was immediately set up when Sterling called him into the octagon after defeating Cejudo. But “The Funkmaster” has been dealing with some nagging injuries which he said could delay his return.

“I’m still injured with my legs banged up,” Sterling recently said on his podcast The Weekly Scraps. “My bicep still sucks. I’m supposed to get another MRI on that. I’m trying to get to this fight in August. We’ve talked a little bit about it, and we’ll try to see if we can make it happen. But my leg is still super sensitive to the touch. I hope I’m not ruining anything by me saying that, but guys, I did just fight.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

Aljamain Sterling shares health update ahead of ‘insane’ turnaround at UFC 292 vs. Sean O’Malley

Aljamain Sterling hopes his body will cooperate in order to properly train for UFC 292 to face Sean O’Malley.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] is just days removed from his last title defense, and already has his next fight lined up. The only issue now is making sure his body is able to go along with those plans.

On Tuesday, UFC president Dana White announced a number of high-profile matchups that will take place over the coming months. Among them was Sterling’s next title fight, which is to take place at UFC 292 against Sean O’Malley at TD Garden in Boston on Aug. 19.

Sterling just defended his title against former two-division champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 in New Jersey, winning by split decision. The fight against O’Malley would be the quickest turnaround of Sterling’s title run, and the champ hopes his body is able to recover from the ailments after the Cejudo fight so that he can prepare properly for his next challenger.

“I’m still injured with my legs banged up,” Sterling said on his podcast The Weekly Scraps. “My bicep still sucks. I’m supposed to get another MRI on that. I’m trying to get to this fight in August. We’ve talked a little bit about it, and we’ll try to see if we can make it happen. But my leg is still super sensitive to the touch. I hope I’m not ruining anything by me saying that, but guys, I did just fight.”

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After Sterling defeated Petr Yan at UFC 273 by split decision, he fought former champion TJ Dillashaw six months later and won by TKO in the second round to record his second title defense. That was the quickest turnaround of his title run, until now. Even though he’s still banged up after going 25 minutes against Cejudo, Sterling agreed to fight O’Malley in August.

“I told them yes, verbally agreed,” Sterling said. “But, of course, my body has to agree. It’s kind of like Manel Kape vs. Deiveson Figueiredo and he thought he was good to fight, and then his eye – whatever, whatever. And then I have to test my bicep again to see because I definitely feel like I tweaked it in the fight, but it held up. Even flexing right now hurts.

“So, I don’t know. We’ll see. So, you guys have the inside scoop. Gonna try to make this happen. This would be a sick, insane turnaround. But where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

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Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley, Zhang Weili vs. Amanda Lemos official for UFC 292 in Boston

Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley and Zhang Weili vs. Amanda Lemos will serve as main and co-main events of UFC 292.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] is now official for UFC 292.

After teasing the UFC bantamweight title fight for late summer during the last pay-per-view event, UFC president [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] made the bout official Tuesday evening, along with a co-main event between strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] and challenger [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag].

UFC 292 is set for Aug. 19 at TD Garden in Boston. No further matchups were announced for the card.

Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) is coming off a third title defense of his 135-pound title earlier this month in the main event of UFC 288 in New Jersey. “The Funkmaster” spoiled Henry Cejudo’s return from retirement, defeating him by split decision.

Afterward, Sterling faced off with O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1), who was brought inside the octagon to promote their title fight.

O’Malley is coming off a split decision win himself, when he edged out former champion Petr Yan back in October at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. The 28-year-old is unbeaten in his last five performances. His first and only defeat came against Ecuador’s Marlon Vera back in 2020.

In the co-main event of the card, Weili (23-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) returns for her first fight in 2023. She was last in action when she reclaimed the women’s strawweight title from then-champion Carla Esparza in the co-main event of UFC 281 last November in New York. Weili is on a two-fight winning streak since losing twice to Rose Namajunas in 2021. Those are her only two defeats inside the octagon.

Lemos (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) also has yet to compete in 2023. In her most recent outing back in November, she stopped top contender Marina Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Fight Night 214. The win put her at a 7-1 run in her past eight bouts.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Aljamain Sterling acknowledges work to do before he could give Alexander Volkanovski ‘a run for his money’

Aljamain Sterling is confident he could pose problems for fellow UFC champ Alexander Volkanovski – if he cleans up some aspects of his game.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] is confident he could pose a stern challenge to featherweight champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag].

Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) defeated Henry Cejudo by split decision in the UFC 288 headliner and proceeded to call Sean O’Malley into the octagon for a faceoff. Featherweight champion Volkanovski scored the fight in favor of Sterling but wasn’t too impressed.

Prior to fighting Cejudo, Sterling had mapped out a two-fight plan that would lead to challenging Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) for his 145-pound title. But after edging out Cejudo, Sterling admits he wasn’t quite ready to mention Volkanovski’s name.

“There’s a reason why I didn’t call him out, because it wasn’t the performance that I wanted to have to keep him on notice,” Sterling said on “The MMA Hour.” “Let me do this one in a better fashion. There’s a couple of technical things I did wrong and instantly I was like, ‘This is nowhere near the way I look in sparring, at all.’ Maybe it was because of the pressure Henry was bringing or maybe I just miscalculated some of the sequences more than I should have, and I was just overthinking it. … I’ve got to fix all these things because I can’t go there and fight Volk like that, because it would be a long, brutal night.

“Like, I’m not going to quit. But that’s going to be a brutal night, meaning I’m taking a trip to the hospital. So, I’m honest about that. But I do know, clean these things up, if I look the way I look in sparring, I give Volkanovski a run for his money. I give Yair Rodriguez a run for his money. But I wanna make sure not just giving them a run for their money, I wanna make sure when I get in there that I know and I believe that I could beat these guys. That’s the mentality you’ve got to have when you step in there.”

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O’Malley is hoping to get his shot at Sterling at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston, but Sterling said he’ll have to assess his body first before deciding if he’s fit enough to defend his title on that date.

Aljamain Sterling: Sean O’Malley not that big of a draw, and title fight ‘ain’t going to be in freaking Boston’

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling isn’t sold on Sean O’Malley’s star power.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] isn’t sold on [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]’s star power.

Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) is expected to defend his title against O’Malley next. After he retained his bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo in this past Saturday’s UFC 288 headliner, Sterling called O’Malley into the octagon for a faceoff.

O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) declared himself the biggest draw in the bantamweight division, but Sterling says nothing points to that.

“Sean O’Malley is definitely the No. 1 contender, so he’s going to get the next fight. But he’s not this big draw that he thinks he is,” Sterling said. “If he was as big of a draw as he says he was, he would have done bigger numbers than Bo Nickal did on (Dana White’s) Contender Series. I think we all know that’s not the case. So in his universe, he thinks he’s this big guy. But this is the Aljamain Sterling show.”

Sterling also doesn’t get the appeal behind O’Malley’s character, and questions what makes him a star.

“He’s a funny dude when he wants to be,” Sterling said. “I don’t get the infatuation with him, like in terms of his personality. When he talks, I’m like, ‘I don’t get what the big deal is about him.’ Conor (McGregor), I get the Conor thing. The stuff that he says is funny. It’s witty. Sean ain’t saying no sh*t like that. He’s just, like, talking. I guess it’s just the colorful hair, the face tattoos. He’s got some serious skills, I guess.”

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O’Malley wants to challenge Sterling at UFC 292, which is expected to take place Aug. 19 in Boston. But “The Funkmaster” said he won’t fight again until September.

“He’s coming into the Aljamain Sterling show, and I’m going to dictate and pick where we’re going to fight – and it ain’t going to be freaking Boston,” Sterling said. “Sean O’Malley does not get a say in where this fight is going to take place. He’s going to fight on my time and when I feel like going out and competing again. I said September, so he better pony up and be ready to fight in September.”