Sterling vs O'Malley

Who won Sterling vs O’Malley?

Sean O’Malley beat Aljamain Sterling by knockout in the 2nd round during the main event of UFC 292, on Saturday 19th August 2023 at TD Garden in Boston.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Bantamweight championship.

Sterling vs O’Malley stats

Aljamain Sterling stepped into the octagon with a record of 23 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 8 by submission.

Sean O’Malley made his way to the cage with a record of 16 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Aljamain Sterling's 21st fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2014. Sean O’Malley marked his 14th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2017.

Aljamain Sterling's UFC record stood at 16-5-0, while Sean O’Malley's came in at 10-3-0.

The stats suggested O'Malley had a massive power advantage over Sterling, boasting a 69% knock out percentage over Sterling's 13%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Sterling had a large advantage over O'Malley, boasting a 35% submission rate over O'Malley's 6%.

Aljamain Sterling was the older man by 5 years, at 35 years old.

O'Malley had a height advantage of 4 inches over Sterling. That also extended to a 1-inch reach advantage.

Sterling was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2011, 3 years and 10 months earlier than O'Malley, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He had fought 32 more professional rounds, 79 to O'Malley's 47.

Sterling vs O’Malley form

Sterling had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Movsar Evloev at UFC 310 on 7th December 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 on 13th April 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 on 19th August 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Bantamweight championship fight at TD Garden, Boston.

Before that, he had beaten Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 on 6th May 2023 by split decision in their UFC Bantamweight championship fight at Prudential Center, Newark.

He had defeated T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280 on 22nd October 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Bantamweight championship fight at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

O'Malley had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he was victorious against Petr Yan at UFC 280 on 22nd October 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Previous to that, his fight against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 ended in a no contest.

Going into that contest, he had won against Raulian Paiva at UFC 269 on 11th December 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had beaten Kris Moutinho at UFC 264 on 10th July 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He had defeated Thomas Almeida at UFC 260 on 27th March 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In of activity leading into the fight, Aljamain Sterling had been fighting more than Sean O’Malley.

Going to this contest, Aljamain Sterling had last fought 6 months and 2 days ago, while Sean O’Malley's last outing had been 2 years, 7 months and 18 days ago.

Sterling's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 7 months and 18 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 11 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

O'Malley's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 2 months and 13 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 3 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Sterling vs O’Malley?

Aljamain Sterling was a 2/5 (-250) favourite going into the contest, while Sean O’Malley made his way into the ring at 7/4 (+180) with oddsmakers.