Aljamain Sterling Reveals Biggest Mistake In UFC 292 Title Loss To Sean O'Malley
Aljamain Sterling has revealed what led to his downfall in the UFC 292 main event.
Fans packed TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts to witness the UFC Bantamweight Championship fight between Sterling and Sean O'Malley. The first round wasn't too eventful with Sterling throwing out some off-balanced kicks, while O'Malley was looking for a counter punch.
In the second stanza, O'Malley nailed Sterling with a right hand that dropped him. The "Funk Master" couldn't recover in time for referee Marc Goddard to be confident that he could continue. The fight was stopped just 51 seconds into the second round and O'Malley is the new 135-pound titleholder.
(via IMAGO/ USA TODAY/ Bob DeChiara)
READ MORE: UFC LEGEND CRITICIZES ALJAMAIN STERLING'S PERFORMANCE AGAINST SEAN O'MALLEY AT UFC 292
During the UFC 292 post-fight press conference, Aljamain Sterling detailed the biggest mistake he made against Sean O'Malley.
"I didn't want the fight to be boring," Sterling said. "I could've sat on the outside and just kept playing the leg kick game, but then I would've had the criticism of everybody else. See, this is the difference, he stayed disciplined to his game plan and I kind of let trying to be a little bit more of an exciting style for the fans play a factor."
Sterling mentioned how fights such as Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero disappointed fight fans as both men hesitated to throw strikes out of respect for the other opponent's skills. He said he didn't want to have that type of performance, but this mindset ended up costing him.
As far as the "Funk Master's" future is concerned, he's hoping for an immediate rematch with O'Malley. The "Sugar" show has dismissed that thought, as he'd rather have a second fight against Marlon "Chito" Vera.
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