Sean O’Malley thinks he’ll be too precise for UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is slated to get the next shot at Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC), who’s coming off a split decision win over Henry Cejudo in this past Saturday’s UFC 288 headliner.
Sterling invited O’Malley into the octagon after his win, and the two exchanged some words in a heated confrontation that almost turned physical. O’Malley praised Sterling for his unorthodox style, but he vows it won’t work against him.
“I am a sniper,” O’Malley told The Schmo. “Aljo walks forward, and his awkwardness is effective in MMA. You’ve got to give it to him because you watch him strike and you’re like, ‘What the hell is he doing?’ But look what he’s done. So, his awkwardness is effective, but I think it’ll be the downfall of him because I am a sniper.
“You can’t walk forward like that with me and cross your feet with your chin in the air because I will find it, and I will find it often. I’m not saying I’m gonna go out there and one-shot him, put his lights out in the first. I just believe that I will hit him over and over and over again to where he will fall.”
O’Malley’s praise for Sterling went as far as calling him the greatest bantamweight of all time. Not only does Sterling hold the record for most consecutive bantamweight title defenses in UFC history at three, he is also owner of the longest active winning streak in bantamweight history.
“I think you look at his resume and what he’s done, and it’s hard to deny that,” O’Malley said. “I think Aljamain is the greatest bantamweight of all time currently.”
