The bitter rivalry between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley has been reignited with furious verbal fireworks. O’Malley recently taunted Sterling’s friend Merab Dvalishvili. This prompted the former bantamweight king to hit back by blasting the reigning champ verbally.
Sterling took to social media platform X to express his frustration. He accused Sean O’Malley of purposely seeking an advantageous matchup rather than facing the rightful #1 contender Dvalishvili. He also insulted O’Malley by saying he was not a ‘real man.’
You’re a sorry ass champion. Keep bragging about a handicapped fight to give you the best odds to win. You’re not a real man my guy. Don’t try to duck the number 1 contender again to fight number 15 this time or some other pointless lame fight.
Aljamain Sterling via X
The harsh comments seemed to stem from O’Malley dismissing Dvalishvili’s threats to “smash” him and his coach, Tim Welch. This outburst from Dvalishvili was the result of a recently released video. The video showed that O’Malley’s coach had yelled the wrong instructions at Sterling before he was knocked out. O’Malley had quipped that he would instead beat Dvalishvili’s “best friend” – an obvious reference to Sterling himself.
You’re a sorry ass champion. Keep bragging about a handicapped fight to give you the best odds to win. You’re not a real man my guy. Don’t try to duck the number 1 contender again to fight number 15 this time or some other pointless lame fight. https://t.co/LysxABxlFj
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 8, 2024
Rumors had recently swirled about O’Malley potentially facing someone lower in the rankings than the #1 man Dvalishvili like Jose Aldo. This did not sit well with Sterling, who has repeatedly accused his former rival of dodging top competition. However, this seems implausible given that O’Malley had recently confirmed his next opponent as Dvalishvili.
Aljamain Sterling reveals he had a ‘handicapped’ fight with Sean O’Malley
The verbal warfare between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley continues to escalate. One fan had recently accused Sterling of being “sparked” by the reigning bantamweight king. ’Funk Master’ quickly fired back with a feisty response.
Aljamain Sterling reveals his fight against Sean O’Malley was handicapped (via Arizona Sports)Sterling admitted O’Malley deserved “congrats” for their fight when he captured the 135-pound title via a spectacular knockout. However, the former champ also claimed the matchup was purposely “handicapped” to increase O’Malley’s chances of victory. He revealed that he had no rematch clause in his contract or even any talk of a rematch after the fight.
Congrats to him on that night. If he lost to me after handicapping the fight, I would’ve been pretty sad for him. This is why I was never offered a rematch clause for BEFORE I signed the contract and even after the fight. Facts are facts lil bro. Stay in ya lane.
Aljamain Sterling via X
Congrats to him on that night. If he lost to me after handicapping the fight, I would’ve been pretty sad for him. This is why I was never offered a rematch clause for BEFORE I signed the contract and even after the fight. Facts are facts lil bro. Stay in ya lane. https://t.co/PEI6s4ksnD
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 8, 2024
Sterling didn’t specify exactly how the bout was allegedly tilted in O’Malley’s favor. He had a fight in May 2023 against Henry Cejudo and fought again after three months in August. As such, Sterling may have alluded to the short time span between the two title fights. Since the loss, he moved to the featherweight division. He made a successful debut at 145 pounds with a dominant win over Calvin Kattar. Sterling at 145 pounds looks promising. It remains to be seen how far Sterling can climb in the featherweight division.
