“I wasn’t rooting for anyone in this fight, and I think the one who was more deserving won,” the American said in the interview Vadim Tikhomirov. “It was a good fight. O’Malley showed that he is capable of competing against top-ranked punchers, while it was evident that he was comfortable against slow-moving fighters”
“Ian was moving, feinting, but not doing so with much action. Peter is good on the feet, but mostly acts in a straight line, back and forth, and not so active on the sides. He pressed Sean, but he went more straight, and didn’t try to cut corners, deprive him of space. Sometimes he was able to get in close and get into a clinch, and it shows that I’ll have moments like that where I can get Shawn too. He’s going to have a bad night after that.”
Sterling, who has two wins over Yang, is confident he can help the former division champion close the gap in his wrestling skills.
“I wouldn’t want to get ahead of myself and think about a trilogy with Yang. Maybe Peter Yan will come and train with us at Serra Longo to tighten up his wrestling.”
As a reminder, the title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley will headline UFC 292, which takes place in Boston.