Sean O'Malley said the UFC 288 title clash between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo may have been a battle for the undisputed bantamweight title, but the real prize was a money fight with... Sean O'Malley.
It's not something the UFC does regularly, but on occasion the promotion will bring the next title challenger into the Octagon to face off with the champion to tee up a forthcoming title fight, and O'Malley was ushered into the cage after Sterling claimed a split-decision victory over Cejudo in Newark, New Jersey.
Words were exchanged, and a tense faceoff followed. Things turned bizarre when O'Malley took off his jacket and handed it, without looking, to Sterling's teammate and fellow bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili, who gleefully donned the jacket for the faceoff, then posed on the cage fence.
After the event, O'Malley called Dvalishvili "a little goofball," saying, "I don't take that dude too serious," before turning his thoughts to what happened in the Sterling-Cejudo matchup.
"I thought Henry won 3-2 maybe 4-1," he said.
"I was actually pretty surprised they gave it to Aljo. But Henry just lucked out because I was going to put his lights out for good. He got lucky."
Then O'Malley explained that he thinks that, despite not holding the title, he is the A-side in the UFC's bantamweight title picture – with Sterling and Cejudo effectively fighting for the right to face him next.
"They weren’t even fighting for the belt tonight," O’Malley said.
"They were fighting for the chance to fight me. Obviously, the champions get pay-per-view money. They could really give a crap less about the belt.
"That fight tonight was to see who gets to fight me. I was the belt tonight and Aljo got a gifted decision."
