Aljamain Sterling is as amused as anybody that Sean O’Malley is getting one other championship alternative.
The UFC formally introduced that Merab Dvalishvili’s subsequent bantamweight title protection is towards O’Malley—the person Dvalishvili beat to win the belt—in the principle occasion of UFC 316 on June 7 in Newark, N.J. Their first bout was not all that aggressive, with Dvalishvili successful a convincing unanimous choice, so fan response to the information has been tepid, particularly since O’Malley hasn’t fought since dropping to Dvalishvili this previous September.
Hip surgical procedure has stored O’Malley sidelined whereas Dvalishvili, Sterling’s shut pal and teammate, went on to document his first profitable title protection by beating the beforehand undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January. Sterling took to social media to touch upon O’Malley being granted an instantaneous rematch.
Sincere reply, the UFC’s gonna do what’s finest for the enterprise and the model. Would I’ve appreciated an instantaneous rematch because of the circumstances going into the primary battle? Completely. However I perceive the enterprise mannequin higher than most, and O’Malley is a very thrilling man that… https://t.co/IaqaMKweAS
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) April 2, 2025
“Sincere reply, the UFC’s gonna do what’s finest for the enterprise and the model,” Sterling wrote in response to a Twitter query. “Would I’ve appreciated an instantaneous rematch because of the circumstances going into the primary battle? Completely. However I perceive the enterprise mannequin higher than most, and O’Malley is a very thrilling man that has overwhelmed many prime 5 contenders. So I believe he rightfully deserves it after all of the ranked names he has overwhelmed.”
At first it appeared like Sterling was defending O’Malley, however in his follow-up tweets, he made it clear he was being sarcastic when discussing O’Malley’s in-cage accolades.
Sterling and O’Malley have their very own historical past, with O’Malley defeating Sterling by second-round TKO to turn out to be bantamweight champion at UFC 292. Sterling has since moved as much as the featherweight division, the place he has gone 1-1 with a win over Calvin Kattar and a loss to Movsar Evloev.
When June 7 rolls round, Sterling will nearly absolutely be in Dvalishvili’s nook to witness firsthand what he expects to be one other successful efficiency by “The Machine.” However he doesn’t need followers to fret about O’Malley, as a result of even when with one other loss to Dvalishvili, Sterling jokingly urged they might run it again another time.
You supply him a trilogy.
