UFC 292 Preview
The UFC will be invading the TD Garden Arena in Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday August 19th for UFC 292. The main event will be for the bantamweight title between underappreciated champion Aljamain Sterling and fan-favorite #2 Sean O’Malley.
Sterling is coming off a split decision victory over future hall of famer Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 in May. The win was his third straight title defense, a UFC bantamweight record and his ninth straight win overall. The champion has not been shy about the distaste he has for his next opponent.
“I want to smash this guy’s face,” Sterling said. “I want to smash the ugly mole rat. When I take this man down, that naked mole rat is getting smashed. I want him to pay for everything that he’s said – all the trash talk, all his Dana White privilege. I ain’t have none of that, and I can’t wait to take it out on him.”
Despite what he may think about O’Malley as a person, as a fighter Sterling is not looking beyond him. “Based on accolades, O’Malley is on the longer list of accomplishments, I mean the only guy he beat by split decision is Petr Yan,” Sterling said. “Everybody else is out of the UFC. So, it’s a tough test. The guy in front of you is always the toughest competition so, I’m not overlooking him by any means. He’s long. He’s rangy. I made sure I brought some great training partners to get the looks and do the same mannerisms he does in the octagon.”
The 34-year-old has predicted a convincing victory. “My prediction, I think second-round TKO,” Sterling said. “But if he gives me his neck – he’s got that little daddy long neck out there so, if he leaves that out there, I’m going to strangle his ass.”
A win over O’Malley could be Sterling’s final fight at bantamweight. “This is more than likely my last fight at 135,” Sterling said. “There’s a 99 percent chance it’s my last. If I win this, for sure, I’m out of here.”
Since he became champion in 2021, Sterling has not taken the UFC fan-base by storm. It started with him winning the title over Petr Yan by DQ after Yan landed an illegal knee to Sterling’s head. This resulted in plenty of arm-chair-quarterback opinions about whether Sterling was injured by the knee or could have continued. From that moment on his legitimacy as a champion has been heavily questioned.
Sterling responded to his critics by neutralizing Yan’s offense in the rematch and winning the fight by using his superb wrestling. He used that same grappling in his next defense against TJ Dillashaw and then again against Cejudo. Sterling’s wrestling and ability to transition from takedowns to submission attempts could spell major trouble for O’Malley.
O’Malley is coming off a split decision win over Yan at UFC 280 last October. The win was a much-debated victory as the fight could have gone either way, but it was enough to earn O’Malley the title shot. He has not lost a fight since 2020, the first of his career to Marlon Vera.
The challenger plans to silence his critics on Saturday with a dynamic finish. “I don’t really care what people say. It doesn’t really affect me. I kind of like being the underdog, being doubted. Going into this fight, I don’t have much pressure. He’s the bantamweight GOAT,” Sean O’Malley said at UFC 292 media day. “He’s on a nine-fight winning streak and he’s saying I haven’t earned the shot. How stupid will he looked when I go out there and knock him out, not even have earned being in that position, and putting his lights out. It makes him look real stupid.”
O’Malley commented on Sterling moving up to featherweight with a victory. “Yeah, I go out there and knock him out and he goes up to 145, boom, I carry on what he was doing in the division, taking people out. He goes out there and wins and moves up to 145, I’m the last person to fight for the belt. I’m the champ either way. I like this situation. It’s a win-win for me,” O’Malley said.
The 28-year-old answered questions about who he would like to fight next if he becomes champion. “If you asked me what fight is bigger, me versus ‘Chito’ rematch, or me versus Merab? I’m pretty sure we could all agree on which one is bigger,” O’Malley said.
“I’m in the fight business. I’ve been saying that. I’ve never been afraid to say that. This is a business to me. Who makes more money — me versus Merab or me versus ‘Chito?’ It’s very simple to me.”
Marlon “Chito” Vera is also fighting on the card and owns O’Malley’s only defeat. Merab Dvalishvili is Sterling’s teammate and is on his own nine fight winning streak. “The rematch needs to happen,” O’Malley said. “Everyone, even ‘Chito’ himself truly knows that wasn’t a win.
“I’ve always wanted to get that one back, and they’re like, ‘Why don’t you rematch him right away?’ I’ll do it when the time is right.”
Vera faces long-running contender Pedro Munhoz and many believe the battle has fight of the night potential. What does O’Malley think? “God, I want to be like, ‘Yeah, it will be exciting,’ but for some reason, I feel like it’s going to be so boring,” O’Malley said. “I feel like it’s going to be Pedro kind of not wanting to engage on the outside, trying to kick his legs. ‘Chito,’ we saw his last performance against Cory [Sandhagen]. There’s a possibility it could be a very exciting fight. I feel like it might be really boring.”
O’Malley concluded, “I’m hoping ‘Chito’ wins. Me versus ‘Chito’ rematch in December, Vegas, title defense. That sounds wonderful. I love that. So ideally ‘Chito.’”
Sterling’s wrestling will play a factor in this fight if O’Malley cannot utilize his length and striking from the outside like he did against Yan. His speed and accuracy could stun the champion and turn the fight in his favor, but getting at him early will be the key to victory.
The co-main event of the evening will be for the women’s strawweight title between champion Zhang Weili and #5 Amanda Lemos.
Weili won the title for the second time in her career after defeating Carla Esparza by second round submission in her last fight at UFC 281. She is 2-2 in her last four but has looked impressive in two straight victories, one of which sent former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk into retirement.
The champion has respect for Lemos. “Lemos is good,” Zhang said. “I admit she’s a very good fighter, and she’s very aggressive. Her fighting style, she is a hard hitter, a hard kicker, she has knockout power but so do I.”
The Chinese fighter wants to prove why she is a great champion. “What I want to showcase more in this fight is to fight like water,” Zhang said. “I can fight very flowing, smooth and shapeless. I can be water and just wrap her up. Even if she makes any tiny mistake, I can catch it and finish her.”
A win over Lemos could mean a potential fight with Chinese contender Yan Xiaonan, but the champion is not looking beyond Lemos. “Let’s see what happens in this fight,” she said when asked about Yan. “Now I’m only focusing on this fight on this Saturday. This is what I’m focusing on right now.”
Lemos has won two straight fights having most recently defeated Marina Rodriguez by third round TKO last November. The Brazilian fighter is ready to shock the world. “People may not be talking about it now, but they will be talking about it after,” Lemos said. “Because it’s going to be a war. And it’s going to be historic. … The more they forget (about me), the more motivation I have to go out there and get the title. On Saturday, they will know who Amanda Lemos is.”
The 36-year-old knows she is in for a tough fight but is confident she can become the new champion. “Every fight I’ve had, I’ve always imagined I was actually fighting a champion,” Lemos said. “I’m in a good place. My head is in a good place, and I’m ready to bring a belt home. … Weili is coming very strong. A complete athlete and very strong coming up, but I’m going to show that I’m stronger and on Saturday I’m going to show who is actually the strongest in the division.”
The rest of the main card:
Welterweight - #13 Ian Machado Garry vs. #11 Neil Magny
Bantamweight - Da'Mon Blackshear vs. Mario Bautista
Bantamweight - #6 Marlon Vera vs. #10 Pedro Munhoz
ESPN + Prelims:
Middleweight - Chris Weidman vs. Brad Tavares
Middleweight - Gregory Rodrigues vs. Denis Tiuliulin
Lightweight - Austin Hubbard vs. Kurt Holobaugh [c]
Bantamweight - Brad Katona vs. Cody Gibson
ESPN + Early Prelims:
Middleweight - Andre Petroski vs. Gerald Meerschaert
Women's Flyweight - #13 Andrea Lee vs. Natália Silva
Women's Flyweight - Karine Silva vs. Maryna Moroz
