Sterling vs O'Malley

Who won Sterling vs O’Malley?

Sean O’Malley beat Aljamain Sterling by knockout in the 2nd round during the main event of UFC 292, on Saturday 19th August 2023 at TD Garden in Boston.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Bantamweight championship.

Sterling vs O’Malley stats

Aljamain Sterling stepped into the octagon with a record of 23 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 8 by submission.

Sean O’Malley made his way to the cage with a record of 16 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Aljamain Sterling's 21st fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2014. Sean O’Malley marked his 13th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2017.

Aljamain Sterling's UFC record stood at 16-5-0, while Sean O’Malley's came in at 10-2-0.

The stats suggested O'Malley had a massive power advantage over Sterling, boasting a 69% knock out percentage over Sterling's 13%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Sterling had a large advantage over O'Malley, boasting a 35% submission rate over O'Malley's 6%.

Aljamain Sterling was the older man by 5 years, at 35 years old.

O'Malley had a height advantage of 4 inches over Sterling. That also extended to a 1-inch reach advantage.

Sterling was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2011, 3 years and 10 months earlier than O'Malley, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He had fought 35 more professional rounds, 79 to O'Malley's 44.

Sterling vs O’Malley form

Aljamain Sterling had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Petr Yan at UFC 273 on 9th April 2022 by split decision in their UFC Bantamweight championship fight at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Petr Yan at UFC 259 on 6th March 2021 by split decision in the 4th round in their UFC Bantamweight championship fight at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Cory Sandhagen at UFC 250 on 6th June 2020 by submission in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he was victorious against Brett Johns at UFC Fight Night 128 on 21st April 2018 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City.

He had lost to Marlon Moraes at UFC Fight Night 123 on 9th December 2017 by knockout in the 1st round at SaveMart Center, Fresno.

O'Malley had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Petr Yan at UFC 280 on 22nd October 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Previous to that, his fight against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 ended in a no contest.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Raulian Paiva at UFC 269 on 11th December 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had defeated Kris Moutinho at UFC 264 on 10th July 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He was victorious against Thomas Almeida at UFC 260 on 27th March 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Sean O’Malley had been fighting more than Aljamain Sterling.

Going to this contest, Aljamain Sterling had last fought 2 years, 11 months and 21 days ago, while Sean O’Malley's last outing had been 2 years, 5 months and 8 days ago.

Sterling's last 5 fights had come over a period of 7 years, 3 months and 21 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 5 months and 17 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

O'Malley's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years and 3 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 19 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Sterling vs O’Malley?

Aljamain Sterling was a 2/5 (-250) favourite going into the contest, while Sean O’Malley made his way into the ring at 7/4 (+180) with oddsmakers.