Israel Adesanya backing underdog Sean O’Malley to win bantamweight title at UFC 292: It’s destiny’
Ahead of his first championship outing under the banner of the UFC tonight in Boston, Massachusetts, incoming title challenger, Sean O’Malley is destined to win undisputed bantamweight spoils against the incumbent, Aljamain Sterling, according to middleweight best, Israel Adesanya.
O’Malley, who enters tonight’s TD Garden title fight showdown with Sterling as the number two ranked bantamweight contender, has been sidelined since turning in the most high-profile win of his Octagon stint to date, with a close, split decision win over former titleholder, Petr Yan at UFC 280 back in October of last year.
As for Sterling, the dominant Uniondale recorded a record-setting third consecutive successful bantamweight title defense at UFC 288 back in May, defeating the returning former two-weight champion, Henry Cejudo over the course of five rounds in a close, split judging win.
Israel Adesanya sides with Sean O’Malley ahead of UFC 292
And despite entering tonight’s title showdown with Sterling as a consensus betting underdog, Dana White’s Contender Series product, O’Malley has the backing of Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Adesanya, who is siding with him to win spoils.
“They can both strike and they can both grapple,” Israel Adesanya said of the pairing on his official YouTube channel. “I like Sean’s flow, his work, the way he fights, the way he moves, his footwork, his taunts, his kicks, his selection, his combinations, the way he picks his shots, the way he darts in and out.”
“… If it goes the distance, I think he can do it,” Israel Adesanya explained. “Sean O’Malley’s locked in. I think he can do five rounds. I’m going to go [with] Sean [to win], official pick. I’m going to go Sean with this one. Sometimes you just feel like it’s time. It’s destiny.”
Sterling takes headlining honors in tonight’s UFC 292 headliner against O’Malley, while an undisputed strawweight title tilt between two-time and incumbent best, Zhang Weili, and challenger, Amanda Lemos takes co-main event status.
