Sean O’Malley‘s reputation going into the Aljamain Sterling fight at UFC 292 for the bantamweight title was mixed. Having taken only one loss in his sixteen-fight career, his elite level striking was apparent to most people. But his antics after the loss against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera and refusal to accept defeat soured him for many fans. Plus, it was widely felt that his colorful personality and social media presence caused the UFC and Dana White to fast-track him to the title shot.

Additionally, it was felt that Aljamain Sterling’s excellent ground game would prove too good for O’Malley. Unsurprisingly, ‘Funkmaster’ was the favorite going into the fight. But ‘Suga’ put an end to all such speculations after his spectacular second-round TKO victory over the longest-reigning bantamweight champion. This is a good time to remind ourselves of what Khabib Nurmagomedov had said about Sean O’Malley.

Guest tells Joe Rogan, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s opinion on Sean O’Malley

On the JRE podcast, filmmaker Will Harris told the Boston native that he felt Khabib Nurmagomedov was the best at analyzing fights and fighters. ‘The Eagle’ was asked his opinion on Sean O’Malley backstage at the Dagestani’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony last year. The former lightweight champion had praised O’Malley, according to Harris.

“I feel like Khabib is the best read on fights and fighters. His f***ing IQ when it comes to fighters. When He was in the Hall of Fame, getting inducted, they asked him how good was O’Malley?…And Khabib was like ‘Sean O’Malley is that guy’. And if Khabib said that, I was like yeah Sean. He really got it. He’s special,” he told Rogan.

O’Malley stops Aljamain Sterling in the second round at UFC 292

After an uneventful first round, O’Malley caught Sterling with a brilliant counter right after Sterling lunged at him with a wild left. This floored the champion and started his ground-and-pound. The referee stepped in and stopped the bout. O’Malley emerged victorious over the man he would describe as the “best bantamweight of all time” in his post-match interview with Joe Rogan.

Read More – Aljamain Sterling Reveals Secrets Behind Insane 30 Lbs Body Transformation and ‘Crash Diet’ for UFC 292 Bout With Sean O’Malley

The Montana native has stated that he wants to stay active and floated Vera as a possible opponent in December. Additionally, the rematch against Sterling is on the horizon, and  Merab Dvalishvili is another formidable opponent in the stacked bantamweight division. Who do you think O’Malley should fight next in the division? Tell us in the comments section below.

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