In Boston, it was a night of two championships.
One of the most important pay-per-view events of the summer for the promotion took place in the TD Garden, which is located on the city’s waterfront in the West End neighborhood.
The UFC 292 main event featured five bouts, with champions Aljamain Sterling and Zhang Weili carrying their titles into two scheduled five-round fights. Sterling faced promotional “it” man Sean O’Malley at bantamweight, while Weili, a two-time claimant, defended her strawweight title against fifth-ranked Amanda Lemos.
Unbeaten welterweight Ian Garry faced up against veteran Neil Magny in another main-card fight, while former middleweight champion Chris Weidman finished off the evening’s seven preliminary fights in his first professional appearance since suffering a terrible leg injury more than two years ago.
New era has begun
A new MMA superstar has emerged.
The right-hand strike that sent Sean O’Malley into the worlds of Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey soon after one in the AM EST on Sunday should go down in history.
“You just saw Sean O’Malley go to the next level,” remarked Daniel Cormier. “People have suggested he might be here since Day 1,”
The “Suga Show” entered the fight via TKO just 51 seconds into the second round when O’Malley dodged a rush and countered with a right hand that instantly knocked Aljamain Sterling to the ground. O’Malley then launched a barrage of ground strikes that compelled referee Marc Goddard to step in and stop the fight.
Although the announce team suggested that the stoppage may have been a little early, Sterling made no objections during the brief post-fight interview.
Sean is far better than I anticipated, the man stated. He did a great job of remaining elusive. I have nothing negative to say about the man. Best wishes to him and his group. I’ve previously lost, been knocked out, and won the UFC championship.
In fact, in a fairly non-violent first round, O’Malley resisted Sterling’s pressure and attempts to bring the fight to the ground, and early in the second round, O’Malley escaped Sterling’s attempt at a single-leg takedown.
The UFC was then abruptly turned on its head.
“Baby, it feels right. I feel good about this,” O’Malley stated. This was the most anxious I’ve ever been before a bout, yet I never lost confidence because I knew what my right hand was capable of. It only takes one error to harm me. I’m not even sure if that was an error. Simply put, I’m that good.
His sole defeat in 11 UFC matches came at the hands of Marlon Vera, who defeated Pedro Munhoz in the main event’s opening bout on Saturday. This was his ninth victory. O’Malley immediately requested a fight with Vera in December.
The “Suga” age is just getting started, he declared. I’m going to keep doing this until 2035.