On Saturday night, the UFC returns to Boston for a stacked night of fights headlined by a bantamweight world title showdown between reigning 135-pound king Aljamain Sterling and polarizing fan favorite, ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley.
The pair have been on a collision course ever since Sterling secured a split decision victory over Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo to retain the bantamweight title at UFC 288. Shortly after dispatching the former two-division titleholder, Sterling and O’Malley engaged in an intense staredown, long before they signed on the dotted line for their title tilt inside TD Garden.
For Sterling, it could be a history-making moment as ‘Funk Master‘ looks to become the first bantamweight in the history of the promotion to defend the title four consecutive times, a testament to how tough the 135-pound weight class truly is.
For O’Malley, it’s an opportunity to capitalize on his immense popularity and years of slowly working his way toward the top of the division.
USADA Testing History for Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley
Like any other fighter competing under the UFC banner, both Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley are subject to regular random PED testing through the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Thanks to a recent report from Jed I. Goodman on X (formerly Twitter), we now know not only how many times Sterling and O’Malley have been tested ahead of their UFC 292 headliner, but how many times they’ve been tested throughout their respective UFC careers.
As of August 10, USADA sample count for the #UFC292 main event
Aljamain Sterling Total 94 (listed as 67, believe this is test sessions
2023 8
2022 20
2021 12
2020 10
2019 16
2018 6
2017 12
2016 9
2015 1Sean O'Malley Total 119 (listed as 73, believe this is test sessions
2023 4…— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 17, 2023
Per the report, Sterling has been tested 97 times throughout his tenure with the promotion. In 2022, he saw 20 tests completed, the most of his eight-year run.
Not to be outdone, Sean O’Malley has an incredible 119 total tests to his credit, the most of which came in 2019 where he was screened a staggering 48 times. The significant increase was likely a response to O’Malley testing positive for ostarine in 2018. In 2019, O’Malley tested positive for the substance a second time, but USADA determined that it was likely residual from his previously failed test.
