UFC 292: Sean O'Malley Backs Up the Hype with Star-Making TKO vs. Aljamain Sterling

The Sean O'Malley hype is justified, just like he always told us it was.

And now, he's got a UFC title to prove it.

O'Malley won the promotion's bantamweight belt in the main event of Saturday's UFC 292 card in Boston, dethroning long-time champion Aljamain Sterling with a second-round TKO that commentator Joe Rogan twice called "picture perfect" and his broadcast partner Daniel Cormier called "star-making."

It's difficult to argue with either assessment.

"It feels nice," O'Malley said in his post-fight fight interview with Rogan, getting a massive pop from the supportive crowd inside host TD Garden. "It feels right."

It's easy to understand why the moment felt right for O'Malley.

Fans and pundits have had him marked as a future champion since he earned a UFC contract with a highlight-reel knockout of Alfred Khashakyan on season two of Dana White's Contender Series back in 2017.

While he experienced some bumps along the way—namely a TKO loss to fellow fan favorite Marlon "Chito" Vera in 2020—his UFC 292 title win was something of a prophecy fulfilled for his legions of supporters.

Of course, even O'Malley's biggest fans probably had a hard time imagining his fight with Sterling going as well as it did.

Heading into the fight, the champion had defended the belt three times against former title holders and was rapidly gaining ground in the bantamweight GOAT debate. He was also a -258 betting favorite to retain the title, according to DraftKings.

The first round didn't give us much of a sense as to how the fight would end, as neither man did anything of real significance until the final minute when Sterling initiated a tie-up and unleashed some dirty boxing. It was uneventful enough that the commentators seemed totally uncertain of who actually won it.

In the second round, however, O'Malley did what he does best, sniping a forward-charging Sterling with a crackling right hand. The punch didn't put the champion out completely, but it dropped him, and O'Malley quickly swarmed him with ground strikes.

Before long, referee Marc Goddard was waving the fight off. The official time of the stoppage was 0:51 of round two.

"It' only takes one mistake against me," the new champ said.

Interestingly—and contrary to all of his pre-fight bravado—O'Malley admitted he was quite nervous heading into his fight with Sterling. He certainly hid it well.

"Honestly the most nervous I've ever been for a fight," he said. "In my eyes, Aljamain is the best bantamweight of all time."

It was a bit surprising to hear O'Malley pay Sterling a compliment after all of the trash talk they exchanged in the lead-up to their fight, but in the end, the hatchet was clearly buried, as Sterling returned the favor in his own post-fight interview.

"Sean is a lot better than I thought," the former champion admitted. "He did a great job being elusive and staying out the outside of the cage. Congrats to him."

After UFC 292, there is no question that O'Malley is one of the UFC's biggest stars. He's always been popular, and his title win is going to send his celebrity through the roof. His next fight is going to be a big deal for the promotion and will most likely land on a blockbuster pay-per-view.

As for his next opponent, he's certainly got options. It would certainly be fair to grant Sterling a shot at redemption. Far less dominant champions have gotten that opportunity. However, the former champion has talked frequently about moving up to featherweight and there is quite a queue of contenders forming at bantamweight, so the next shot will most likely go to somebody else.

The three front runners for the next title shot are clearly Sterling's close friend and training partner Merab Dvalishvili, Cory Sandhagen, and Vera.

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Of the three, Dvalishvili is definitely the most deserving. He's on the longest win streak of the bunch, which includes a lopsided decision win over the former champion Yan. Sandhagen has also won three straight, including a decision win over Vera. However, it's possible none of that will matter.

As a big star and a world champion, O'Malley has quite a bit of influence over his fighting future. If he gets his way, his next fight will be a do-over with his former foil Vera, who rebounded from his loss to Sandhagen with a decision win over Pedro Munhoz in the UFC 292 main card opener.

"I'll whoop Chito's a-- in December in Vegas," O'Malley told Rogan, paving the way to a championship grudge match with the Ecuadorian finisher.

Whomever the new champion ends up fighting next, he is adamant that his time on the throne is just getting started.

"This is just the beginning of the Suga era," he said in his post-fight interview.

After his spectacular title win at UFC 292, not many people are likely to argue with that.