VIDEO: Just like a copy! A poor copy of Conor McGregor? No way. O’Malley won the title almost as iconically as the Irish star did years ago

Sensation, shock, surprise. Aljamain Sterling was seen as a fairly big favorite for his next defense at UFC 292, Sean O’Malley has never faced an opponent of his quality. His path to a title shot has been criticized. Many critics labeled him as a poor Conor McGregor lookalike, but he won, and in almost identical fashion to the Irishman once did.

It was December 12, 2015. The then still underrated, yet properly confident Conor McGregor faced the legend and champion Jose Aldo. He wasn’t given much of a chance, but all it took was 13 seconds for the Irishman to become a legend.

An iconic knockout, the fastest in the history of title fights, still seen in UFC highlights today. McGregor’s popularity was already high before the fight, but then it skyrocketed. And Sean O’Malley has a similar story.

He too was constantly doubted. People made fun of his haircut, his tattoos, his extreme confidence. He’s been called a poor copy of McGregor, definitely not up to par.

As with McGregor, the American fighter was also talked about having a certain amount of favoritism with the UFC because of his popularity. After all, he worked his way up to a title fight rather quickly. All he had to do was beat Peter Yano on points in a close fight and he was done.

So on Saturday night, O’Malley got his shot. He took on the most successful fighter in bantamweight history to date. Aljamain Sterling was seen as a big favorite, even though he’s not exactly popular with the fans.

He was expected to give the 28-year-old star some serious problems with his wrestling. But it didn’t happen. In fact, Sterling didn’t even get there. The first round was tied up with tactics, and in the second round, all it took was one failed attack and it was over.

O’Malley read Sterling’s offense perfectly and then counter-punched. He sent his opponent down in his first title fight in almost identical fashion to the way he sent McGregor Aldo down. Then all he had to do was add a few shots on the ground and it was over.

The main difference between the two finishes is that while McGregor used his legendary left hand, O’Malley grounded Sterling with his right hand. Either way, O’Malley convinced that he can definitely measure up to anyone and that underestimating him was a big mistake.

Source: UFC, Twitter, Tapology