SUPERSTARDOM awaits if Sean O’Malley can defeat champ Aljamain Sterling in Boston
With Conor McGregor cashed out, Jon Jones checking out, Khabib Nurmagomedov passed out and Georges St Pierre and Anderson Silva aged out – the UFC are desperate to polish a new generation of superstars.
For a business model that thrives or dies relative to pay-per-view buys, having a handful of champions that crossover into the mainstream is as crucial to the UFC as having takedown defence is to one of their athletes.
Australasian double act Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski are fast on their way to achieving superstar status, whilst Khabib’s prodigy Islam Makhachev is building a foundation to do huge numbers in the future.
What’s missing, especially regards the most lucrative US home audience, is a North American with crossover stardom. Yet all that could change this weekend at UFC 292 in Boston.
‘SUGA’ SHOW
‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley has got personality. And, as John Travolta’s Pulp Fiction persona Vincent once said: ‘Personality goes a long way.’
The 28-year-old fighting out of Phoenix, Arizona is the #2 contender in the bantamweight division and in the early hours of Sunday morning will challenge Aljamain Sterling for 135lb gold.
With just one loss in his 18 fights, O’Malley has been guided towards this opportunity over a five-year UFC campaign. This will be his 10th consecutive UFC numbered event, unheard of to most athletes on the roster.
From his zany rainbow hairstyle, to his face and all over body tattoos, through pink Lamborghini and penchant for publicly smoking pot, O’Malley is a poster boy for pop culture in the United States in 2023.
He’s living the teenage American dream and if he’s crowned UFC champion in Massachusetts his star will rise exponentially come Monday morning.
Of course, once that cage door closes all the hair dye, tattoo ink and OTT jewelry in the world won’t save you from a beating if you can’t fight. But O’Malley can fight and he’s here on merit.
FUNK MASTER
The problem for the ‘Suga Show’ is that reigning champion Sterling can fight too. And I mean, really fight. Stylistically, his power grappling game presents a clear route to victory over an unorthodox striker like O’Malley.
The 34-year-old New Yorker has a 23-3 record and is riding a nine-fight win streak, including three former champions in his last three defences.
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It’s taken Sterling some time to get the respect his talent deserves, but now high in the pound-for-pound rankings he’s breaking records with every defence of his bantamweight title.
His eight career submissions wins against three knockouts highlights that strength on the ground for the Matt Serra trained BJJ black belt. But it’s also the athleticism he possesses which allows him to ground his opponents down with that relentless grappling.
O’Malley, 28, is no slouch on the mats himself, but his strength absolutely arrives on the feet where his height and reach advantage allow him to dictate range behind a solid jab before launching probing and spinning power kicks and combinations.
BOSTON UFC PARTY
O’Malley silenced his doubters in October by defeating Petr Yan, one of the former champions on Sterling’s recent resume, which secured him this shot at destiny.
But, in his first ever UFC main event, he’s going to have to be punch-perfect to secure the stoppage victory is likely going to take to end Sterling’s reign.
SEAN O'MALLEY FIGHT WEEK. #UFC292 pic.twitter.com/zIT0lJNKe1
— Infinity MMA (@Infinity_MMA) August 14, 2023
The champion is a significant favourite for a reason.
He’s worked hard to get where he is, and he’s made significant improvements along the way to legitimise his plans to move up a weight class in 2024 and shoot for his own slice of greatness.
But MMA has a habit of turning best laid plans sour and with Aljo looking past O’Malley for his next great challenge, he’ll miss the shot to end his reign.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Suga Show.
NICK’S TIP
Victory really could be sweet if red-hot Nick’s latest prediction comes in…
