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Sean O'Malley's latest message to Aljamain Sterling has concerned fans as he was pictured smoking marijuana just days from their title bout.
O'Malley and Sterling will headline UFC 292 which takes place on August 19 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The bout marks O'Malley's first title shot, whereas Sterling is looking to extend his 135lb title defence record to four.
Ahead of their match-up, 'Sugar' sent a message to 'Funk Master' on Instagram. In the video, Sean O'Malley is smoking whilst standing by his pool before jumping into the water, but keeping the cigarette lit. O'Malley said to Sterling:
"Aljo, I bet you can't swim like this. I'm taking everything you want for motherf*cker!"
Watch the video here:
Fans have been reacting to the video, with many stating their concern over Sean O'Malley and the fact he's smoking just a week out from the biggest fight of his career.
One fan even compared O'Malley's actions to Nate Diaz, who routinely smoked throughout his entire fighting career. They wrote:
"Nate Diaz has more stamina than anyone....Nate Diaz smokes more than anyone."
Another fan criticized O'Malley's decision to be smoking so close to a fight, sparking concern about how seriously he is taking his preparation.
"Smoking before a championship fight is crazy."
Check out more reactions here:
Sean O'Malley claims pressure is mounting on Aljamain Sterling
Recently, 'Sugar' had claimed Sterling looked nervous in his pre-fight buildup interviews and was asked to clarify his comments during an appearance on The MMA Hour last week. O'Malley explained that he feels as though 'Funk Master' is starting to crack because he still has a significant amount of weight to cut.
The bantamweight contender stated:
"I just let him know, I said, 'Hey champ you look a little nervous.' When I saw him on the TV," said O'Malley. "Just being honest, you know, this moment might be getting to him a little bit. What was that, 14 or 13 days out from the weigh-ins, I'm sure he's still got a lot of weight to cut. He's dealing with these "injuries", so I thought he looked a little nervous and I thought I'd let him know. And I did."
Catch O'Malley's comments here (2:15):
