Aljamain Sterling keeps a close eye on all of the potential contenders gunning for his UFC bantamweight title and that includes fast rising star Sean O’Malley.
The former Contender Series winner has long touted himself as a future champion and he might have his best shot to make a jump up the MMA Fighting Global Rankings with his next fight scheduled against proven 135-pound veteran Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 in July.
While he is still likely to win a few more before actually challenging for the gold medal, Sterling cannot help but praise O’Malley as an actual threat to anyone in this division.
“Honestly, if I’m being honest, that guy’s really f******* good,” Sterling said about O’Malley on The Joe Rogan podcast. “I like his honesty and the way he breaks down fights and analyzes it kind of reminds me of myself except he’s a little bit more brash about it. He’s like ‘Frankie [Edgar] was winning that entire fight with ‘Chito’ [Vera], he was winning 13 minutes of the fight until he got caught with the front kick.’ Very accurate. ‘Chito’ was losing that fight.
“The way he breaks down fights, he’s a good analyst and honest about what he’s looking at. His terminology may not always be the best to describe it but he knows what he’s talking about.”
Sterling said that O’Malley understands the importance of his size in order to gain an edge over his opponents. O’Malley is a towering bantamweight.
In fact at 5-foot-11-inches tall with a 72-inch reach, O’Malley actually maintains a size and reach advantage over every single UFC fighter currently ranked in the top 15 at 135 pounds.
“Good movement, slick on the feet,” Sterling said about O’Malley. I think O’Malley is best known for his feints, particularly with the length of his body and this range in weight .”
Now for all the praise he heaped on O’Malley’s shoulders, Sterling isn’t without his criticisms as well.
O’Malley being such a tall and lanky fighter it’s possible that he has to sacrifice some strength in order to keep his body small enough for him continue fighting at the bantamweight limit.
That’s one area where Sterling is confident he could potentially overwhelm somebody like O’Malley, especially during grappling exchanges.
” I feel that he may be a bit weak but,” Sterling stated. “I feel like if I grab that guy and put a body lock on that guy, I’d probably break his ribs and get a submission with a standing body lock. Just crunch his back like the Hulk.
“Something has to lack. It is impossible to have power, speed, height and leverage. God didn’t bless you with such blessings. Something must be missing
Sterling compares O’Malley to Cory Sandhagen’s body and it’s an argument he won in the first round. It was one of his best performances yet.
” I feel that this was the case for [Cory] Sandhagen,” Sterling said. Sterling said, “I felt that this was the difference. Even [Petr] Yan, I don’t feel he was overly strong but him being more compact, I feel like he was more explosive than Sandhagen. I feel like he was a little bit stronger in some of those positions as well.”
Of course, O’Malley isn’t at Sandhagen’s level just yet in terms of accomplishments but a win over Munhoz in July would move him towards the top of the division and potentially one step closer to a future fight against Sterling.
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