Alexander Volkanovski sees benefit in Aljamain Sterling’s quick turnaround.
Bantamweight champion Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) retained his title against Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 in May. Shortly after, he was booked for his next assignment against Sean O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in the UFC 292 headliner Aug. 19 at TD Garden in Boston.
Although Sterling had his reservations to compete again so soon, he sees O’Malley as likely his final fight at 135 pounds before making the move up to 145 pounds. Featherweight champion Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) praised Sterling for his activity, and sees a win over O’Malley building up a potential fight with him even more.
“I’m glad he’s doing the quick turnaround,” Volkanovski said on Israel Adesanya’s YouTube channel. “I think that’s gonna get a lot of people on his side. Not only that, it’s a massive fight. Sean O’Malley pulls numbers, this is incredible, so I’m really looking forward to see how that plays out.
“You heard your Henry’s and your Aljo’s talk about moving up to featherweight which I would love that. A big win from Aljo if he was to take out O’Malley, that would be huge for him. That sets him right up for a fight at featherweight. Him doing the quick turnaround, I love it.”
Volkanovski thinks O’Malley has the striking to trouble Sterling, but sees the championship rounds benefitting “The Funkmaster.”
“It’s a tricky one,” Volkanovski said. “I believe that O’Malley’s striking is obviously a lot better. Don’t get me wrong, Aljamain’s striking is not too bad. He’s still good, he’s tricky, and he’s got to weave pressure especially when you’re going to have that wrestling threat, that backpack threat. That’s definitely going to play a factor.
“I think Sean O’Malley definitely has a confidence to stay composed and be sharp on the feet and not hesitate too much because of it, but I mean, if I had to lean towards someone, five rounds, probably Aljo. But I definitely could see Sean O’Malley catching him.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.