Sean O’Malley stops Aljamain Sterling early in second round to claim bantamweight title at UFC 292

In front of a fired up crowd at Boston’s TD Garden late on Saturday night, Sean O’Malley overwhelmed Aljamain Sterling to claim the UFC bantamweight title.

The first round was a cagey affair with the 28-year-old O’Malley attempting to get into Sterling’s face, but the champion held him off with a series of low kicks. Late in the opening round, Sterling launched for a takedown from range but managed only a clinch before the buzzer sounded.

Sterling came out more aggressively in the second round, advancing on O’Malley and delivering a hard body kick. O’Malley retreated to the wall and dodged a Sterling punch that left the champion dangerous exposed.

That misstep gave O’Malley the opening he needed and the Montana-born fighter caught him with a short right completely unguarded. From there, Sterling was rolling and O’Malley rammed home his advantage with a flurry of blows.

Sterling, a master grappler, tried to reach out for a takedown from the ground but could do nothing to prevent the striker O’Malley finishing the fight from there, just 51 seconds into the second round.

No fighter in UFC history had made more successful defences of the bantamweight title in UFC history, nor won more consecutive bouts in this weight class, but Sterling had been dethroned.

Before Saturday night’s defeat, Sterling had been unbeaten since December 2017, a run which culminated in his title win in 2021 against Petr Yan.

After the fight, the new champion was jubilant.

He said: “It feels right, baby, it feels right. Honestly, this was the most nervous I’ve been for a fight. In my eyes, Aljamain Sterling is the greatest bantamweight of all time, but I never lost confidence – because I know what I possess in this f***ing right hand, baby!”

O’Malley continued, observing that Sterling had given him the vital opening: “It only takes one mistake against me. I don’t even know if that was a mistake, I’m just that f***ing good!”

‘Suga’ O’Malley then turned to the future: “It’s just the beginning of the Suga era, I’m running this s*** till 2035, baby.”

Upon learning that Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera had also won his bout, O’Malley called him out for his first title defence.

He said: “Was it boring? Probably. I’ll whoop Chito’s a** in December in Vegas.”

Vera had picked up a close victory earlier in the evening, outpointing Pedro Munhoz for a unanimous decision victory.

Vanquished former champion Sterling was booed by the crowd as he was handed the microphone.

He praised his opponent, saying: “Sean is a lot better than I thought, man. He did a really good job, he was elusive, stayed on the outside.”

He continued, with a word of advice for the fans who continue to jeer: “Nothing but respect at the end of the day. Chasing the dream, something everyone in the crowd should be trying to do every day of your life.”

Earlier in the card, Zhang Weili set a striking record to defend her strawweight title against Amanda Lemos. It was a dominant display from the champion across five rounds to secure a unanimous decision win. She landed a remarkably lopsided 288 strikes to 21 during the fight.

Afterwards, Zhang thanked the crowd: “Boston, I feel here is my home. I feel the energy you gave me. Thank you everybody, I’m so happy. I’m training everyday so hard for an easy fight. I’m not surprised because I have a great team.”

Ian Garry crushed Neil Magny in their welterweight bout, sending ‘The Haitian Sensation’ to the canvas three times inside the opening round alone. After the fight, Garry called for a clash with Stephen Thompson.

He said: “To be the best you’ve got to beat the best. So give me Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson whenever, wherever, for five rounds and I will prove to you that I am the new generation of striker in the world.”

Mario Bautista stopped Da’mon Blackshear’s attempt to set a UFC record by winning two bouts inside a week with a unanimous decision win earlier in the evening. Blackshear came out aggressively and dominated the first round, but things levelled out as the fight went on and Bautista gradually got on top.