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Sean O'Malley's coach Tim Welch recently provided an update on the bantamweight contender's weight cut ahead of his title fight against Aljamain Sterling this Saturday at UFC 292.
During his appearance on The MMA Hour, Welch was asked how the weight cut has been so far, considering that he hasn't fought since last October. He mentioned that there is still plenty of weight to lose before Friday morning's weigh-in, but it isn't a cause for concern.
Jed I. Goodman tweeted:
"Tim Welch says Sean O’Malley has about 12lbs or 13lbs left to cut. Says that is exactly where they were on the Wednesday before fighting Petr Yan. #TheMMAHour"
Welch noted that he is confident with the current status of O'Malley's weight cut because it's identical to where he was prior to his bout with former bantamweight champion Petr Yan last October. He won the fight via split decision and earned his title shot as a result.
It will be interesting to see whether Sean O'Malley can dethrone Aljamain Sterling or if 'FunkMaster' will extend his UFC record for most bantamweight title defenses.
Sean O'Malley believes the weight cut will affect Aljamain Sterling
Although Sean O'Malley has approximately 13lbs to cut prior to Saturday's fight, he believes the weight cutting will take a greater toll on Aljamain Sterling.
During his appearance on The MMA Hour, 'Sugar' shared his thoughts on Sterling and noted that he's not sure how many strikes he will be able to withstand in their fight. He mentioned that he plans to apply pressure with his strikes and land the blow that finishes 'FunkMaster', saying:
"I will land this right hand. You go and look at my entire UFC career, how many people...whether I've finished them in the first round or not, I dropped a lot of people in the first round. He's cutting a lot of weight and that plays a role in the shots you can take. So, I plan on going out there and delivering the shots that he can't take."
