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Sean O'Malley has only one blemish on his record, a first-round TKO loss to Marlon Vera that he refuses to accept. 'Sugar' could now look forward to avenging that loss after Henry Cejudo's pullout from the UFC 292 card.
Cejudo just pulled out of his scheduled meeting against Vera, citing a shoulder injury. It might be difficult for the UFC to find a short-notice replacement for 'Chito,' who is coming off a split-decision loss against Cory Sandhagen.
Meanwhile, O'Malley is scheduled to challenge Aljamain Sterling for the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 292. Irrespective of the outcome of that fight, 'Sugar' can plot a rematch against Vera for his next outing.
If 'Chito' does get pulled out of the UFC 292 card altogether, he doesn't have many more potential opponents ranked higher than him. The 30-year-old will likely have no issues waiting a few months for the promotion to find him a suitable opponent.
Sean O'Malley faced Marlon Vera at UFC 252 in August 2020. While Vera battered O'Malley's lead leg to finish him with elbows, 'Sugar' blames the loss on a damaged nerve to this day.
Aljamain Sterling downplays Sean O'Malley's resume
Aljamain Sterling believes Sean O'Malley was set up for stardom by the UFC. 'Sugar' has finished six of his nine UFC wins, earning performance bonuses for seven of them.
However, Sterling recently questioned O'Malley's resume, citing the caliber of opponents he has faced until recently. 'Funkmaster' said during the first episode of the Road To The Suga Show YouTube series:
“Terrion Ware, no longer in the UFC. Andre Soukhamthath, no longer in the UFC. Raulian Paiva, I don’t think he’s in the UFC. Thomas Almeida, he’s no longer in the UFC. Who else did he knockout? Kris Moutinho TKO, even though they probably should have let the fight keep going ... No longer in the UFC. You get this guy who’s kind of come in, has had these tailor-made fights that were handpicked for him to look like a superstar, and in all fairness, I’m not even mad at that."
Watch Sterling's comments below:
