Aljamain Sterling, Sean O’Malley fight confirmed for UFC 292 in August, co-main event title clash announced
Aljamain Sterling will make a quick turnaround after defending his bantamweight world championship against former two-division titleholder Henry Cejudo at UFC 288.
As announced by Dana White on social media, ‘Funk Master’ will return to defend his title once again against No. 2 ranked bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley. The highly anticipated 135-pound clash will headline the promotion’s return to Bostom for UFC 292. White also revealed the evening’s co-main event. Reigning UFC strawweight women’s champion Zhang Weili will defend her title against No. 4 ranked contender, Amanda Lemos.
Sean O’Malley will go into his first UFC title opportunity 8-1 inside the Octagon and riding a four-fight win streak. Sugar’ scored his spot as the next man in line with a closely-contested split decision victory over former champion Petr Yan at UFC 280 in October.
Aljamain Sterling looks to defend his bantamweight title for the fourth time against O’Malley after successfully dispatching former titleholders Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw, and Henry Cejudo in his last three outings. Sterling is currently on a nine-fight win streak dating back to 2018. On Monday, ‘Funk Master’ played coy when asked about a potential meeting with O’Malley this August, suggesting that he had some injuries to heal before he could adequately estimate his timetable for a return. Clearly, Sterling was simply doing his best to not spoil Dana White’s announcement.
Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley Will Be Joined By a Can’t-Miss Strawweight Women’s Title Fight
As for Zhang Weili, the Chinese sensation will defend her title for the first time since reclaiming the crown against former two-time champion Carla Esparza last year. Zhang holds an impressive 7-2 record under the UFC banner with her only losses coming against another former champion, ‘Thug’ Rose Namajuna. In March 2020, Zhang competed in what many consider to be the greatest fight in women’s MMA history, going toe-to-toe with Joanna Jędrzejczyk.
Her opponent, Amanda Lemos, is an equal 7-2 inside the Octagon. After coming up short in her promotional debut, Lemos has since won seven of her last eight, earning wins over Angela Hill, Michelle Waterson-Gomez, and Marina Rodriguez. ‘Amandinha’ has finished her last two opponents, including an impressive third-round knockout of Rodriguez to solidify her position as the next strawweight contender.
UFC 292 will air from TD Garden in Boston on August 19. The only other bout announced for the lineup will feature a bantamweight showdown between Cody Garbrandt and Mario Bautista.
