The bookmakers may not be giving Sean O’Malley much of a chance vs. Petr Yan, but Aljamain Sterling is.
Sterling will defend his bantamweight title against former champion T.J. Dillashaw in the co-main event of UFC 280, but immediately before that bout, Sterling’s old rival, Yan, will face O’Malley in the featured main card bout, with potential title ramifications on the line. It’s a big step up in competition for O’Malley and as such, Yan is a heavy favorite heading into the bout, but “The Funk Master” believes this could be a tough fight for Yan if he doesn’t mind his Ps and Qs.
“I think it’s a good technical matchup for both guys,” Sterling told Submission Radio. “If you look at it on paper, O’Malley is untested. The one time he had a test, he failed, that was to [Marlon] ‘Chito’ Vera. Obviously it was a weird injury that he had with that leg kick, because not every day someone is going to kick you in the leg and you get drop foot. He’s got good footwork, he’s got good range, he’s got good movement, and then you have Yan, who is super durable, super tough, as people say he ‘downloads data’ — I hate when people say that, it’s the stupidest thing. If he could have punched you in the face, he would have punched you in the face. He can’t, so he’s trying to get a read on you. They make it sound like he’s this unbeatable robot. Dude, whatever.
“If he starts behind the eight ball like that and gives O’Malley a chance in a three round fight, an opportunity to run up the score on him, pick the shots, it could be a miserable night for Yan. But if Yan is able to touch him up, go to the body, chop down O’Malley’s legs — I’m not saying O’Malley’s legs are his week point because people tend to keep talking about that, but I do think with a tall, rangy fighter, who is tough to hit up top, how else do you get him? You attack the body, that’s going to be a lot more stationary, and you attack the legs, that’s going to be a lot more stationary. You can’t get the legs out of the way the same way you get the head out of the way. So I think Yan has to come in with a smart I.Q., otherwise he’s going to go 0-3.”
For his part, O’Malley is agrees with Sterling, saying he’s surprised to be such a big betting underdog against Yan, even though Yan is a former champion.
UFC 280 takes place Oct. 22 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
TOP STORIES
Results. Yan Xiaonan edges majority decision win over Mackenzie Dern at UFC Vegas 61.
Results. Patricio Pitbull dominates, tells booing crowd ‘f*** you’; A.J. McKee wins wild 155 debut.
Results. Xiong Jing Nan edges Angela Lee in thrilling champ vs. champ trilogy fight at ONE Prime Video 2.
Disappointed. Mackenzie Dern emotional in defeat after falling to Yan Xiaonan: ‘I’m sorry if I made anyone sad with my performance’.
Reaction. ‘Stay home bro’: Fighters react to Mark Zuckerberg’s private show at UFC Vegas 61.
Wrestling. Daniel Cormier to serve as special guest referee in WWE match involving ex-UFC fighter Matt Riddle.
RIP. Antonio Inoki, wrestling legend who famously faced Muhammad Ali in mixed rules fight, dies at 79.
VIDEO STEW
UFC Vegas 61 Post Show.
Jose Aldo montage.
Yan Xiaonan reflects on her win.
Doctor talks about the Aaron Pico injury.
Paddy Pimblett returns home.
LISTEN UP
On To The Next One. Matches to make following UFC Vegas 61.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Randy Brown on cheating.
Haha. ♂️ I have all the respect in the world for the referees. I even gave my man Keith Peterson a nickname. But you posed the right question. What is a referee to do with a foul like this? It changed the fight, in my humble opinion. Thus the (impassioned) reaction…
— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) October 2, 2022
Love you Jon but he took me down and landed in a better position not even 5 seconds later it wasn’t all that fight altering tbf. Also was just a reflex man it wasn’t intentional. The takedown he attempted was called a Kosoto gari. He attempted to pull me off the cage, not down 1/ https://t.co/sGdjP3BAdI
— Randy Brown (@TouchNgo_) October 2, 2022
Notice how i grabbed the bottom portion of the fence, not top- which only managed to stop him from pulling me away from the cage, not down to the floor. Not justifying the grab it was unintentional, but it wouldn’t have changed things 2/2
— Randy Brown (@TouchNgo_) October 2, 2022
Props.
After watching @PatricioPitbull performance last night along with his consistency of success at the highest level opponents , it’s really hard to not think He is top 3 in his class in the entire world . I just rewatched this am , the man is technically Tops .
— Eddie Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) October 2, 2022
Darren Till.
Still baffles me fighters giving D.C shit over his analytic P.O.V’s in MMA.
They calling him out like they could fight him, don’t forget guys that Fat Potato head could still absolutely maul 99% of the roster on his worst day… let’s show some respect.— D (@darrentill2) September 29, 2022
Conor McGregor.
weights through roofs. pic.twitter.com/4vVTX8jbYg
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 2, 2022
Who? I eat the liver with shots not forks. Ball of the foot, heel of the foot, fist, elbow, you name it. Even the butt of the head on the sly I dig them in. Production sees nothin till highlights, and even then only the next day. Motherfucker I destroy liver. I’m King, period. https://t.co/bJNizq5KJP
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 2, 2022
Frisky.
Idk if I can wait 2 more months yo bitch @RaufeonStots what’re u doin later
— Danny Sabatello (@ShockThisWorld) October 2, 2022
Expanding the brand.
Secret shoes pic.twitter.com/8KZ39jtHFf
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) October 3, 2022
Beef.
I love how some people just expect you to do a favor for someone disrespectful. Your ass can wait
— Dan Ige (@Dynamitedan808) October 1, 2022
I was never disrespectful… I just told the truth! You wanted to fight 10 days ago and now all of the sudden they offered you a fight against me, you’re injured…even if you die and are reborn again, you will not change the result.
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) October 2, 2022
I want to fight you and I was willing to wait until December to smash your head, but if not, don’t reply to this tweet and stay quiet for the rest of your life !
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) October 2, 2022
Seems you’re quick to forget. Your ego is bigger than your fat head it’s okay though you’ll learn sooner or later. We will cross paths it just won’t be at your perfect convenience that’s not how life works. And for the record I have died and I have been reborn. See you soon
— Dan Ige (@Dynamitedan808) October 2, 2022
Still trying to get this fight.
It’d be fun pic.twitter.com/cN2Lvnb3kG
— Terrance ‘T Wrecks’ McKinney (@twrecks155) October 3, 2022
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Roberto Soldic (20-3) vs. Murad Ramazanov (11-0); ONE Championship, Dec. 2.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Thanks for reading! See y’all tomorrow.
EXIT POLL
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let him know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.
