Sean O’Malley shoots down the idea of an immediate rematch with Aljamain Sterling, expresses interest in future fight with Gervonta Davis

Sean O’Malley doesn’t see himself fighting Aljamain Sterling again in his first title defense.

O’Malley challenged Sterling for the UFC Bantamweight Championship in the main event of UFC 292. O’Malley was patient before cracking Sterling with a counter right hand that dropped him in the second stanza. After some ground-and-pound, referee Marc Goddard had seen enough.

After the fight, Sterling told reporters that he’d like an immediate rematch against O’Malley. If the newly-minted 135-pound champion has anything to say about it, then “Funk Master” will not get his wish.

Sean O’Malley Dismisses Immediate Rematch

During the UFC 292 post-fight press conference, Sean O’Malley didn’t appear to have any interest in sharing the Octagon with Aljo again (via Aaron Bronsteter).

O'Malley believes that a boxing match against Gervonta Davis will happen one day, but acknowledges that he probably needs more wins.

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) August 20, 2023

“O’Malley shoots down a potential Aljamain Sterling rematch and feigns surprise that Sterling is no longer committing to moving to featherweight.”

O’Malley then brought up an interesting name he’d like to fight. The “Sugar” show wants to have a boxing match with current WBA (Regular) Lightweight Champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

“O’Malley believes that a boxing match against Gervonta Davis will happen one day, but acknowledges that he probably needs more wins. O’Malley says that he doesn’t even really follow boxing, but knows that Gervonta Davis is a big star and he wants the biggest, most exciting fights.”

UFC President Dana White has made it clear that he isn’t a fan of his fighters going into the world of boxing. It probably doesn’t help that “Tank” Davis fights on Showtime, as White and the Showtime Sports folks have a rocky relationship.

As far as the immediate future is concerned, Sean O’Malley is looking to make his first title defense against Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC 296 in December. Whether or not that’s the title fight that will ultimately be booked for the year-end pay-per-view remains to be seen.