The UFC 292 broadcast team, including long-time commentator Joe Rogan and UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, offered their immediate take on Sean O’Malley’s shocking second-round knockout of perhaps the greatest bantamweight in the history of the division, Aljamain Sterling.
O’Malley sent fans inside Boston’s iconic TD Garden into a frenzy after a perfectly-placed right hand caught the ‘Funk Master’ as he was lunging in with a strike of his own. Seconds later, Sterling was face down on the canvas, and O’Malley’s hand was raised.
Sugar Sean O’Malley did THIS to Aljamain Sterling to become the Bantamweight World Champion! 😳 pic.twitter.com/omQUgLzFHd
— Multiplicity Media Group (@MultiplicityMG) August 20, 2023
As the broadcast came to a close, Joe Rogan collected his thoughts following the chaotic scene and offered his take on the rouges gallery that O’Malley has adopted by becoming the bantamweight champion.
“What a division. I mean, this division is just a murderer’s row,” Rogan said. “It really is. I believe Aljo’s probably going to stay in the division and try to get a rematch, but who knows? You’ve got Merab there, who’s his teammate, and ‘Chito’ Vera fighting him for the title. Petr Yan lost a very narrow split decision to Sean O’Malley. He’s still in the hunt. Very intriguing fights for the champ.”
Daniel Cormier Believes it Will Take Someone Special to Defeat Sean O’Malley
Daniel Cormier offered his thoughts on the absolutely stacked bantamweight division, suggesting that instead of a grapple-heavy approach to defeating O’Malley, ‘Sugar’ may only be bested by another elite-level striker at 135.
“It’s a crazy division and you know what speaks to how good it is? That Aljo has more defenses than anybody and he has three because you can’t hold onto the championship,” Cormier said. “Everybody’s so good. So can Sean O’Malley be that guy? Can he be the guy that brings stability to the division? He’s got some great challenges, but tonight after watching him defend takedowns and the way that he did it, it’s hard to envision those guys just wrestling him.
“You thought that’s maybe a weakness. You look at Merab [Dvalishvili], he’s gonna pressure him, but he’s gotta stay out of the way of the right hand. Umar Nurmagomedov, they’re gonna wrestle. It may take a high-level striker if you’re going to beat Sean O’Malley. I don’t know, man. The guy is as impressive as they come and tonight he became a real superstar.”
