ALJAMAIN STERLING believes Sean O’Malley has benefitted from “Dana White privilege” during his fast-tracked run to UFC title contention.
Bantamweight king Sterling makes the fourth defence of his 135lbs title against the fan favourite early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 292 in Boston.
GETTYAljamain Sterling defends his bantamweight title against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292[/caption]
O’Malley enters his first title fight with just one win over top-15 competitionGETTY
That win came over former interim ^ undisputed 135lbs champ Petr Yan last OctoberGETTY
GETTYSterling believes O’Malley has been fast-tracked to title contention by Dana White[/caption]
O’Malley punched his ticket to a title shot last October with a controversial decision victory over former champion Petr Yan on Fight Island.
That narrow win over the once-feared Russian is, to this day, O’Malley’s sole victory over an active top-15 fighter.
On top of that, only three of O’Malley’s ten-career UFC opponents – who have a combined 52-53 record in the promotion – remain in the organisation.
Sterling has the utmost respect for the 28-year-old but can’t help but feel that ‘Suga’ has well and truly been given a sweetener by Dana White and the rest of the UFC brass.
The Funkmaster told SunSport: “I do think he does belong, but I think he just had a teacher’s pet of a way to get here.
“He had the Dana White privilege – I think we’ve all heard it under the sun already.”
O’Malley’s route to his first crack at UFC gold has irked many in the bantamweight division, with the consensus being he’s had an easy run to title contention.
And to say Sterling shares that belief would be an understatement.
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The 34-year-old American said of his opponent: “He hasn’t cut his teeth in the sport the way that we have.
“And [he hasn’t fought some of the best guys in the sport, the way that we have, to earn a title shot.”
O’Malley is undoubtedly one of the UFC’s needle movers, with the promotion’s social media posts and YouTube videos on the Montanan routinely being the most interacted with and viewed.
His potential to be one of MMA‘s future superstars was evident early on in his career and has grown with each passing fight.
Sterling hasn’t been living under a rock during O’Malley’s rise and is well aware of his star potential, which he believes was at the forefront of the matchmakers’ minds when plotting the course of his career.
GETTYAljamain Sterling will look to register his fourth defence of the 135lbs title against Sean O’Malley[/caption]
GETTYSterling has vowed to spoil O’Malley’s planned coronation as a global superstar[/caption]
Sterling – who registered a split-decision victory over former two-weight champion Henry Cejudo in May – said: “I think that’s all by design.”
O’Malley and his rabid fans believe Sunday morning’s clash at the TD Garden will be the ushering in of the ‘Suga’ era.
Sterling, however, has plans to show the UFC they hitched their horse to the wrong wagon and prove O’Malley is still a rookie when it comes to mixing it with the elite of the elite.
He said: “I think it’s up to me to take that design back to the manufacturers and say, ‘Here, you need to fix this.
The Serra-Longo Fight Team standout added: “It’s up for me to go out there and prove he doesn’t belong.”