This past weekend Aljamain Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo in a slightly underwhelming Bantamweight Championship bout. Aljo handily won the fight in my opinion. Did Henry have some flashes? Yes, absolutely, but he didn't do nearly enough to win the fight and Aljo did just enough to successfully defend his title. Was the split decision controversial? I don't really know what fight Michael Bell was watching, but it felt pretty clear that Aljo won rounds 1,3,&4. Henry only decisively won round 5, and credit to him for still having a great gas tank, but he's not on the level of the top Bantamweights. This division is too stacked for Henry.
That said, after the fight, the UFC had "Suga" Sean O'Malley enter the octagon like it was Monday Night Raw, and because there's no script, both O'Malley and the Funkmaster were just yelling at each other on the same microphone. It got so unprofessional and unclear that Rogan pulled the microphone away. However, we knew O'Malley would be the next contender as long as Aljo won. It's time to get this fight booked. Dana said at the press conference that he's aiming for Boston in August, but Aljo said he'd rather fight in September. I wouldn't be shocked if it got a little more delayed and became the co-main event for Jones vs Miocic at MSG in the Fall.
Regardless of when or where this fight takes place, I think Sterling poses a lot of problems for O'Malley. Aljo is an amazing wrestler, and yes Sean was able to neutralize Petr Yan's grappling, but let's not be quick to forget who really exposed Yan's weaknesses. That would be the champ. Aljo just outwrestled an Olympic gold medalist in Cejudo. If Sean is going to win this fight, it has to be with a home run. Sean is going to have to use that long reach of his and he'll need to rely on that unique flashy style of his. This isn't only a clash of amazing fighters, but amazing coaches. Ray Longo and Tim Welch seem to understand Mixed Martial Arts on another level that isn't comprehendible for the average Joe. Longo has coached numerous UFC champions during his legendary career including Matt Serra, Chris Weidman, and of course, Aljamain Sterling. Welch, on the other hand, has such a unique relationship with O'Malley compared to other coaches and fighters whereas O'Malley and Welch are basically best friends as well as compete together. Tim knows everything about Sean, and you could tell during the Yan fight that Tim knew exactly how to react when Sean was in danger for one of the first times in his career.
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