Tag: UFC 292

Aljamain Sterling shocked by low UFC 292 pay-per-view number for Sean O’Malley fight

Aljamain Sterling thought UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley was supposed to be this big draw or something.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] apparently is not the pay-per-view draw [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] thought he was.

Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) lost his title to O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) by second-round knockout this past August at UFC 292. The O’Malley fight happened just over three months after a successful five-round title defense against Henry Cejudo in which Sterling felt pressured into making a quicker turnaround than he wanted.

After looking at the UFC 292 pay-per-view buys, Sterling questions O’Malley’s star power.

“I got the pay-per-view numbers, and me and her were going through it, and I’m just like, ‘These are the numbers that this guy was trying to say he’s this big pay-per-view star?'” Sterling said on his YouTube channel without revealing the specific figure. “I’m just like, ‘Oh my God.’ When I saw the numbers, I literally said to her, ‘If I had any idea this is what the numbers would have been, if I could have predicted that this is what it would have been, my ass would have waited and taken my vacation then.'”

In hindsight, Sterling admits he probably shouldn’t have taken the O’Malley fight so soon.

“I rolled the dice,” Sterling said. “I trusted that the bag was going to be this blow-me-away kind of thing, bigger than all the other ones. It wasn’t. With that being said, it is what it is. I’m still happy I made some extra money. I had a really good year. I can’t complain about that. Life’s good. I can take care of myself. I can take care of my family.”

Following the loss to O’Malley, Sterling announced his intention of moving up to featherweight. He draws top contender Calvin Kattar (23-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at UFC 300 on April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Ray Longo hopes UFC sets up at least one more ‘fair’ fight for Chris Weidman: ‘He wants to go out on a win’

Ray Longo wants the UFC to give Chris Weidman an opportunity to go out on top.

Ray Longo wants the UFC to give [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] an opportunity to go out on top.

Weidman (15-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) returned from an over two-year long layoff after suffering a gruesome leg break in April 2021, but fell short in a unanimous decision loss to Brad Tavares (20-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) at UFC 292. He fractured his left leg in the loss, but doesn’t expect it to sideline him for too long.

UFC president Dana White urged the former middleweight champion to retire, but Weidman insists he’s not done yet. Longo hopes the UFC gives Weidman a good matchup for his next fight.

“He’s got some decisions to make,” Longo said on the Anik & Florian Podcast. “I think he wants to go out on a win. But I think I’d like to see them set up one last fight that’s fair, and then that’s it. Then it’s over. Just go out – I think he deserves it. He beat the greatest of all time twice, and I think he was a company man.”

Weidman, 39, has had a Hall of Fame-worthy career highlighted by his two title-fight finishes of all-time great Anderson Silva. When it’s all said and done, Longo would like to see Weidman celebrated for his achievements.

“The (Lyoto) Machida fight was great, the (Vitor) Belfort fight, and he had some really good fights,” Longo said. “(He) came around at the right time, dethroned (Silva) before he started to slip. That guy was on top of the world when Weidman got rid of him, and then you saw (Silva) flounder after that. So I think that’s a Hall of Famer, for sure, and I hope they treat him like one. I think that’ll make him happy.”

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MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for August: Collard, Burgos produce a classic contest for PFL

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from August 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from August 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for August.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees

MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for August: Da’Mon Blackshear’s ultra-rare twister

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from August 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from August 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for August.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

Nominees

MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for August: Max Holloway sends ‘The Korean Zombie’ into retirement

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from August 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from August 2023. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for August.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

Nominees

Sean O’Malley disputes Henry Cejudo, claims promotion said UFC 292 reached 570K buys

Sean O’Malley responded to Henry Cejudo’s claim about weak UFC 292 pay-per-view sales.

New UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] says the promotion revealed how many pay-per-view buys were associated with UFC 292 after former champ [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] claimed sales for the event were weak.

O’Malley became the 135-pound champ by defeating Aljamain Sterling in the second round by TKO in the headliner of the pay-per-view event in Boston. All signs pointed to the event being a massive success for the promotion as a sell-out show that produced the highest gate in TD Garden’s history behind the NBA Finals.

However, former two-division UFC champion Cejudo claimed there was another side to the story. In a recent video posted to his YouTube channel, Cejudo said the event didn’t do great numbers.

“Guess what guys, I have friends at ESPN,” Cejudo said. “… You guys want to know what Sean O’Malley’s buys did at pay-per-view? He did anywhere between 300K to 350K. That’s it. That’s all Sean O’Malley made in pay-per-view buys.”

O’Malley offered a rebuttal after meeting with the promotion in Las Vegas on Thursday, disputing Cejudo’s claim, while also revealing the numbers of “Triple C’s” last fight.

“I just talked to the UFC and I heard upwards of 570K,” O’Malley wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “… Not making this up. Heard Aljo vs. Henry did 135K.”

 

These days, it’s difficult to pin down an accurate number of UFC PPV buys ever since the promotion moved to ESPN. The network, UFC president [autotag]Dana White[/autotag], and other promotion officials now keep a tight lid on accurate figures.

However, when an event does well, White will typically relay to reporters during the post-event news conference that ESPN was happy with the sales figures. After UFC 292, White appeared very happy with how things went, despite not revealing specific numbers.

“We broke the all-time gate record,” White said at the post-event news conference. “Bruce Springsteen just played here and did $5 million, we did over $7 million. The Boston Garden. We’re the biggest thing other than – the craziest sports town on earth – other than their team that plays here, we’re the biggest thing that’s ever been here. So what does that tell you about O’Malley? This is also the biggest bantamweight championship fight ever on pay-per-view, globally. It broke the record. Biggest bantamweight championship fight ever.”

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Video: Is Ilia Topuria the clear-cut next best option for UFC champ Alexander Volkanovski?

Had Aljamain Sterling beaten Sean O’Malley earlier this month, the options for Alexander Volkanovski might have looked a lot different.

Had Aljamain Sterling beaten Sean O’Malley earlier this month, the options for [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] might have looked a lot different.

A win for Sterling may have had him ready to leave the bantamweight division for a move to featherweight – and historically, the UFC loves those champ-vs.-champ matchups, so Volkanovski may have been set to put his featherweight title on the line against Sterling.

Sterling still might move up to featherweight after his loss to O’Malley, but he no longer would be an automatic contender for a fight with the 145-pound champ. Instead, Volkanovski (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC) still likely is looking at either a fight with unbeaten top contender [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), who hasn’t been shy with his thoughts about the Australian, or a rematch with lightweight titleholder [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC), who handed Volkanovski his only octagon loss at UFC 284 in February.

Volkanovski beat interim champ Yair Rodriguez to unify the featherweight belts in July. Topuria is coming off a dominant win over Josh Emmett. But Makhachev’s win over Volkanovski in February was close enough that there’s still an argument to be made for a rematch, even if it keeps the featherweight title on hold. At one point, Volkanovski seemed to be leaning toward Makhachev. But what’s the latest, and what makes most sense?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Danny Segura break all that down with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s full episode below.

UFC 292 fighter pay: Zhang Weili, Sean O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling top disclosed list – in that order

Check out the disclosed UFC 292 pay for Zhang Weili, Sean O’Malley, and Aljamain Sterling, per the Massachusetts athletic commission.

A dozen fighters who competed Aug. 19 at UFC 292 in Boston walked away with six-figure disclosed paydays, according to government documents.

UFC women’s strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] topped all disclosed amounts, pocketing over a half-million dollars ($520,000) for her successful title defense vs. [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] ($250,000). Headliners [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] and [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] each walked away with slightly less ($500,000) in terms of disclosed amounts.

The Massachusetts Division of Occupational Licensure released a full document of fighter bout agreements to MMA Junkie on Tuesday through a public records request. The amounts regulated by the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission (MSAC) do not include LOA (side letter) bonuses, sponsorships, or other locker room bonuses.

Check out what the 24 athletes who competed on the card earned in terms of disclosed payouts below.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Aug. 29: Sean O’Malley enters, Erin Blanchfield rises in P4P lists

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, which features moves in the men’s and women’s pound-for-pound lists.

With a new champion crowned and a rising star continuing to turn in impressive performances, the latest rankings update features a few key movements on the pound-for-pound lists.

At UFC 292, [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] became the UFC bantamweight champion by stopping Aljamain Sterling in the second round of the main event title fight. Naturally, knocking off the now-former champion elevated O’Malley to No. 1 in the divisional rankings, but he also debuted on the men’s P4P rankings at No. 8.

The following week, [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] continued to prove a real threat to the top of the women’s flyweight division. At UFC Fight Night 225, Blanchfield picked up a unanimous decision win over Taila Santos. She now holds the No. 4 spot in the division, but also rises in the women’s P4P ranks to No. 14.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

UFC 292 ‘Fight Motion’: Watch ‘Suga Show’ title highlights in super-slow mo

The Sean O’Malley era in the UFC’s bantamweight division got started earlier this month in Boston.

The Sean O’Malley Era in the UFC’s bantamweight division got started earlier this month in Boston.

O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) took out 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) in the second round of their UFC 292 main event. Going into the fight, Sterling was being talked about as perhaps the greatest bantamweight of all time.

In the co-main event, Zhang Weili (23-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) put on one of the most overwhelming performances in women’s MMA history when she dominated Amanda Lemos (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) to defend the strawweight title. Plus, Ian Machado Garry (12-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) continued his unbeaten rise through the welterweight division with a shutout of Neil Magny (28-10 MMA, 21-9 UFC) on the scorecards.

Check out all the highlights in super-slow motion in the UFC 292 “Fight Motion” video highlights above from TD Garden.

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