Aljamain Sterling is clearly amused by the fact that Sean O’Malley is getting another chance to fight for the championship.
The UFC has officially announced that Merab Dvalishvili will defend his bantamweight title against O’Malley in the main event of UFC 316, scheduled for June 7 in Newark, N.J. O’Malley is the same opponent Dvalishvili defeated to win the title. Their first match was quite one-sided, with Dvalishvili securing a dominant unanimous decision. Consequently, the announcement of this rematch has been met with a lukewarm response from fans, especially considering O’Malley has not competed since his defeat by Dvalishvili last September.
While O’Malley has been recovering from hip surgery, Dvalishvili, who is a close friend and teammate of Sterling, successfully defended his title for the first time with a victory over the previously undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January. Sterling took to social media to share his humorous thoughts on O’Malley being granted an immediate rematch.
“Honestly, the UFC will always prioritize what is best for their business and brand,” Sterling wrote in response to a question on Twitter. “Would I have liked an immediate rematch given the circumstances leading up to our first fight? Absolutely. However, I understand the business aspect quite well, and O’Malley is an exciting fighter who has defeated several top 5 contenders. Therefore, I believe he rightfully deserves this opportunity after defeating those highly ranked opponents.”
Initially, Sterling’s comments seemed to be in defense of O’Malley, but in his subsequent tweets, he made it clear that he was being sarcastic when referring to O’Malley’s accomplishments in the octagon.
Sterling and O’Malley have their own history, with O’Malley defeating Sterling by TKO in the second round to become the bantamweight champion at UFC 292. Sterling has since moved up to the featherweight division, where he has a record of one win and one loss, with a victory over Calvin Kattar and a loss to Movsar Evloev.
When June 7 comes around, Sterling will almost certainly be in Dvalishvili’s corner to witness what he anticipates will be another victory for “The Machine.” However, he jokingly reassured fans not to worry about O’Malley, suggesting that even if he loses to Dvalishvili again, they could have a trilogy fight.
“Offer him a trilogy,” Sterling jokingly proposed.
