Suga: For Hire

Sean O’Malley is taking matters into his own hands.

The top bantamweight contender, ranked No. 1 in the world after upsetting former champion Petr Yan at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, is waiting for current titleholder Aljamain Sterling to defend his strap against ex-division kingpin Henry Cejudo.

But for some mysterious reason, the promotion has yet to acquire signed contracts.

“It drives me crazy,” O’Malley said on his TimboSugarShow podcast (transcribed by MMA Fighting). “Why is this not happening? I don’t think it’s a money thing. The UFC would say ‘all right, next guy.’ Henry literally retired because he wasn’t getting paid enough and now he’s broke and wants to come back. He’s coming back to make the same amount. Aljo’s not going to get paid more. He’s not a draw. That’s just facts. That’s not me throwing shots. Aljo would say the same thing. He’s like ‘yeah, I’m not a draw, I don’t have fans.’ He knows. Everyone knows. Is it a weight thing? Is it an injury lingering? What is it? I’ve got to get to the bottom of this. I’m hiring a private investigator to follow them both around.”

Maybe “Suga” can hire the “secret investigators” who cracked this bizarre case.

The promotion needs to pull the trigger on Sterling vs. Cejudo relatively soon or put “Triple C” on the back burner and get O’Malley into the title picture because No. 3-ranked Merab Dvalishvili is no doubt running out of patience after winning eight straight.

Hopefully we can get some answers shortly after the New Year.