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Two UFC champions were recently blasted by a star, saying that they “can’t even” headline a pay-per-view event.
During a recent episode of the “TimboSugarShow” podcast, No. 12-ranked bantamweight “Sugar” Sean O’Malley took aim at the top two fighters in his division, 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling and interim bantamweight champion Petr Yan. Sterling won the belt in March 2021 at UFC 259 after Yan landed an illegal knee during the fourth round. Sterling has been out of action since recovering from a neck injury, which was unrelated to the knee.
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GettyPetr Yan and Aljamain Sterling are set to face-off a second time at UFC 267 on October 30, 2021.
In October 2021, Yan rebounded from losing his bantamweight belt by earning the interim strap. He competed against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267 and defeated him via unanimous decision.
Sterling and Yan were set to unify the 135-pound belt at UFC 272 on March 5, 2022, however the fight was moved to UFC 273 on April 9, 2022, after Max Holloway withdrew out of the main event against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Volkanovski will now fight Chan Sung Jung in the main event of UFC 273 and UFC 272 is scheduled to be headlined by Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.
Well, O’Malley ripped on Sterling and Yan for having to be moved off the card, claiming that it’s because the two couldn’t take over the headlining spot after Volkanovski vs. Holloway was canceled.
“You know what is crazy to me, that Petr and ‘Aljo’ can’t main event their own pay-per-view.” O’Malley said via Middle Easy. “So their main event (Alex Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 3) pulled out and they could not just be the main event?”
“They’re not big enough. It is so weird. This is the best division in the UFC. (Well) maybe, and they can’t even headline their own pay-per-view!”
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Sterling Responded to O’Malley’s Comments By Bringing Up His Loss to Marlon Vera
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GettySean O’Malley (L) lands a punch on Kris Moutinho in the first round during UFC 264 in July 2021.
Sterling clapped back at O’Malley for his comments, pointing at Sugar Sean’s loss to Marlon Vera in 2020. “Suga tits, be careful when speaking about the top dogs in my division,” Sterling tweeted. “Last time you barked at a ranked fighter, you made a remix to Tory Lanez’ single ‘Broke Leg’, featuring the Ecuadorian.”
Vera compromised Sugar Sean’s leg during their clash back in August 2020 at UFC 252, and O’Malley was eventually finished via TKO courtesy of “Chito’s” brutal ground and pound.
O’Malley has bounced back in a big way since then, rattling off three highlight performances, knocking out Thomas Almeida and stopping Kris Moutinho and Raulian Paiva by TKO, all in 2021.
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Sterling Is on a Six-Fight Win Streak
Although Sterling won the title in a controversial way, he’s built an impressive six-fight win streak.
“The Funk Master” holds notable victories over the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera.
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