UFC 288 is finally in the books and it was a memorable event for sure. From Jessica Andrade getting flatlined to Gilbert Burns seemingly suffering a concussion, there were a lot of highlights from the much-anticipated PPV. However, the biggest story of the event comes from the main event fight between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo and the subsequent drama that followed involving Sean O’Malley.
The UFC bantamweight champ, Aljamain Sterling took on Henry Cejudo to defend his title. Aljo beat Cejudo via a split decision in what was a very close fight. However, after the contest, Sterling called out Sean O’Malley, who was in attendance for the event. After receiving the call out, O’Malley went inside the ring and had an intense face-off with the champ.
Sean O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling exchanged words in the octagon at #UFC288 pic.twitter.com/DfJPjR0JnE
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 7, 2023
They also exchanged quite a few heated words as well. Suga Sean was not impressed with Aljo’s performance against Henry Cejudo. He told Aljo, “You better look better than that, you better look better than that. You looked like sh*t.” However, Aljo did not back down and revealed that Sean turned down the opportunity to fight for the belt previously. Aljo then added, “I’ll drag your a** up and down this f***ing Octagon b**ch. Get the f**k out of my cage.”
Merab 😭😭 #UFC288 pic.twitter.com/yAOxyyjsPB
— UFC (@ufc) May 7, 2023
At that point, UFC President Dana White pulled Sean O’Malley to the side and tried to calm the situation. However, things got heated once more. Although it was initially unclear what the reason was, commentator Jon Anik revealed that Sean was upset after seeing Merab Dvalishvili wearing the red jacket which he took off during his faceoff with Aljo. However, the security broke up the scuffle quickly before it turned violent.
When will Aljamain Sterling defend his title against Sean O’Malley?
It is pretty evident that Sean O’Malley is next in line to face Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title. Following his UFC 280 win over Petr Yan, fans assumed the clash between Aljamain and Sean O’Malley was guaranteed to happen down the line. After UFC 288 post-fight altercation between the two, fans can not wait to see them go head-to-head.
“September. Signed, delivered and sealed.” – Aljamain Sterling wants to fight O’Malley in the fall. #UFC288
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 7, 2023
However, the question is, when will the bout take place? In his interview with Joe Rogan, Aljo added that he would be down to face Sean in September. During his press conference after the event, Dana White revealed that the fight is in the works for UFC 292. So the question is, who would you favor in a bout between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley? Let us know in the comments down below.