Trying not to make a boring match cost him the title? The former UFC champion reveals why he thinks it was a sensation

UFC 292 offered one big surprise. One of the most dominant fighters in bantamweight history fell and lost his title. After the fight, Aljamain Sterling was looking for reasons why Sean O’Malley beat him in the first place.

The UFC has a new champion as of this weekend. Aljamain Sterling lost his title when Sean O’Malley stopped him in the second round. The first five minutes weren’t very attractive, it was a tactical chess match. It was the second round that showed why both fighters had been so cautious up to that point.

Sterling made a single mistake for which he was duly punished. He missed one attack, was left exposed, and O’Malley uncompromisingly sent him to the ground, where his opponent was already shaken and only needed to add a few more punches.

Already a former champion, he showed great character after the match, congratulating his opponent and acknowledging his qualities. At the press conference afterwards he was looking for reasons why he lost.

“Sean remained disciplined in his tactics and his plan. I decided that I didn’t want to make the match boring and tried to make it more attractive,” Sterling was heard saying.

Aljamain is aware that he could have been less active, not taking the initiative and calmly just kicking O’Malley off the retreat. But he didn’t want to be the target of criticism for an unattractive duel. As an example, he mentioned the former fight between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero.

“We’ve seen fights where not much happens because neither fighter wants to make a serious mistake. I made one, Sean punished me for it, so I paid for my mistake,” Sterling said.

Among other things, the former bantamweight king noted that O’Malley is better than he thought he was. He especially surprised him with great footwork. Overall, he had words of praise for his conqueror. He’d like to see a rematch, but whether he’ll get one is the question. The new champion refuses to take it yet.

Source: UFC, BJPenn.com