Aug 21, 20233 min read

Sweet Like Sugar

MMA and the UFC has a new superstar... welcome to the Sugar Era.

Sean O'Malley stunned the fight world after slaying the dominant bantamweight king, Aljamain Sterling, with a thunderous right hand that will be played for years. A right hand to silence the doubters; a right hand of championship worth; and a right hand to solidify superstar status.

Suga Sean is just that- a superstar. Now he reigns over the bantamweight division, doing so by runnin' through arguably the best bantamweight champ of all-time. Look, we are all well aware on how some of Sterling's past wins came to fruition. None of that however, takes away from what Aljo has done as the champion. To defend the belt five times, is unreal. Defending against Petr Yan; TJ DIllashaw; and Henry Cejudo. You can't take squat away from Aljo, he was on a 9 fight win streak until he felt the fate of the Suga Show's power. Sterling was wrong on his prediction that he would maul Sean to a first round TKO, that you can get at him for.

Aljo's gameplan didn't match his pre fight words. Rather than being relentless towards finding a takedown in round one, Sterling decided to mostly battle on the feet and calculate O'Malley's tendencies. Aljo was 0/2 on takedown and just stopped with the attempt! I agree with Aljo winning the first round due to landing more significant strikes, I do not agree with his gameplan.

The gameplan sure came back around to bite Aljo quick, huh? Just 33 seconds in, Sean made Aljo regret an overcommitted left hand & forced Aljo to feel the Suga power- droppin' Sterling face first into the canvas with a flush counter right-hand. Here is the full finish in motion:

What a swift and beautiful right hand by O'Malley. I hear the stoppage chirps, I do, I had a chirp, too. That was in the heat, before ponder. At the end of the ponder, Marc Goddard made the right call. Goddard has a top tier difficulty job. His main responsibility is to protect the well-being of both fighters. He did just that for, Sterling. Rollin' on your front with the face lickin' canvas and no head protection? Yeah, it's the right call. Marc had a quick that's so raven flash of O'Malley's KO on Thomas Almeida and was like: "nah, I can't be no Herb Dean". Good stoppage.

We can chirp at Aljo all we want regarding his gameplan, but the night belonged to Sean O'Malley. That's the bottom line. Suga Sean's striking is so special. O'Malley will realistically go down as one of the greatest; cleanest; and most precise strikers in all of MMA's history. Sugar Sean now ranks second all-time (tied) with 6 knockouts in the bantamweight division, trailing just TJ Dillashaw (7). O'Malley doesn't just finish, he finishes in ESPN Top 10 Plays kind of style.

Check out the montage of angles on his right-hand and bask in it's glory one more time:

Get used to those roars. O'Malley has officially proved that he isn't just hype- but the real deal. Sean stamped his superstar ticket, and just in time in the eyes of the UFC, as it seems Conor McGregor may now be a figure of the past. The next big question for Sean and the UFC: what's next?

There is options for O'Malley right off the bat. Intriguing options at that. Does Aljo get a rematch? Sterling has already been vocal on wanting an immediate rematch. Do you give the next in line a title shot in Cory Sandhagen? Or do you go with the fan's personal favorite: Chito Vera vs Sean O'Malley II- this time for the bantamweight championship? It's a tough decision.

I'll save that banter for an Octo-Talk. I also haven't decided on what I think they should do. All I know? I can't wait for more of the Suga Show, baby. What a rise. What a come up. What a figure. Oh and folks, it's never to late to jump on the Sugar Express. Fight world, greet your new star:

Sweet Like Sugar

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