“I lost to Sean and it makes me angry because now he’s the new UFC flyweight champion,” Sterling said. “When I say ‘champion,’ I picture guys like Khabib, Kamaru Usman, who are role models. I don’t want my kids to look at Shawn, see his face tattoos, the way he smokes weed, and think that’s normal. That’s not something to emulate in life.”
On August 19 at UFC 292 in Boston, Sean O’Malley became the new UFC flyweight champion, finishing Aljamain Sterling by technical knockout in the second round, and celebrated his victory by getting another tattoo on his face – “Champion 2023”, with the year inscribed in Roman numerals.
O’Malley is scheduled to make his first title defense on December 16 at UFC 296 in Las Vegas against the division’s number six Marlon Vera, who handed him the only defeat of his career three years ago.