"It's a different f***ing sport" - Sean O'Malley admits he is facing difficulties like never before while preparing for Aljamain Sterling

UFC Bantamweight star Sean O’Malley is a gifted fighter and a smart businessman as well. The 28-year-old earned a title shot against champion Aljamain Sterling by beating Petr Yan at UFC 280 last October.

As he now stands on the verge of earning a UFC belt, 'Sugar' is faced with the harsh reality of training for a five-round title fight.

Sharing his thoughts on Henry Cejudo's withdrawal from his UFC 292 fight against Marlon Vera, Aljamain Sterling mentioned that preparing for five-round bouts is more difficult than most people can imagine.

While speaking about these remarks on the TimboSugarShow, O’Malley seconded Sterling’s thoughts and stated that the training camp for a five-round contest is an extremely demanding task:

“It is very f***ing true. I am finding that out. It’s a very different sport I feel like. I’m doing three rounds this far out. Usually, you do three rounds a couple of weeks out from the fight give or take… I’m doing three rounds and we’re six weeks out. So it is definitely different training for a title fight. You have to be ready to go for 25 minutes. It’s not necessarily technically twice as long. But goddamn it, I am calling it twice as long.”

Watch O’Malley make the statement at the 16:33 mark of the video below:

Sean O’Malley took a major step up in competition to fight Petr Yan and managed to outpoint the former champ to take the No.1 spot. However, he has never seen championship rounds in his 18-fight pro MMA career.

Sean O’Malley suggests a perfect opponent for 'Chito' Vera after the fight with Cejudo gets canceled

O’Malley’s statements about the championship fight camp were in response to Henry Cejudo vs. 'Chito' Vera getting canceled. Both men are coming off a loss in their last fights. While returning former champ Cejudo dropped a decision against Sterling, Vera is also fresh off a decision loss against Cory Sandhagen.

However, Cejudo pulled out of the fight citing a shoulder tear and Vera is left with no opponent at the moment. He called out former champ Petr Yan, who has been on a three-fight losing skid.

Sean O’Malley, who likes the matchup, said:

“Wonder who 'Chito’s gonna get? 'Chito' called out Petr Yan. 'Chito' vs. Petr would be sweet.”

If Sean O’Malley is able to dethrone Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292, he is willing to take on 'Chito' Vera, the only fighter who has beaten ‘Sugar in MMA, or the legendary Henry Cejudo.