Can Aljamain Sterling Make It 10 Straight Wins At UFC 292?

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling squares off against elite striker Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 292 at the TD Garden Arena in Boston on Sunday morning. Sterling has won his last 9 fights, including three title defences against Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo. Can Sterling make it 10 straight wins and cement his place as the bantamweight GOAT?

He takes on a dangerous striker in “Sugar” Sean O’Malley, who beat Petr Yan in controversial fashion at UFC 280 in October last year to earn himself a title shot. Despite the controversial win, O’Malley is a dangerous opponent for Sterling if he manages to keep the fight on the feet.

Let’s look at some of the numbers ahead of this much-anticipated showdown.

Numbers

8: Sterling wins by submission, accounting for 35% of his career total. His methods of choice: five rear-naked chokes, one arm-triangle choke, one guillotine choke and one kneebar. Sterling owns three other wins by knockout or technical knockout (13%), another by disqualification (4%) and 11 more by decision (48%).

72: Rounds started by Sterling as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 13 different occasions and carries an 11-2 record in those bouts.

32: Takedowns completed by Sterling as a UFC bantamweight, placing him fourth on the promotion’s all-time list at 135 pounds. Only Merab Dvalishvili (61), Ricky Simon (39) and Tony Gravely (33) have been credited with more.

73: Combined victories between the three opponents—Marlon Moraes, Raphael Assuncao and Bryan Caraway—who have beaten Sterling. They sport a cumulative 693 winning percentage at 73-32-1.

28: Years of age for O’Malley, who was born in Helena, Montana, on Oct. 24, 1994.

11: O’Malley victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 69% of his career total (16). His list of UFC victims: Raulian Paiva, Kris Moutinho, Thomas Almeida, Eddie Winland and Jose Alberto Quinonez. O’Malley holds one other victory by submission (6%) and four more by decision (25%).

UFC 292 Main Card

Bantamweight Championship: Aljamain Sterling v Sean O’Malley

Co-main event: Women’s strawweight championship: Zhang Weili v Amanda Lemos

Welterweight: Ian Machado Garry v Neil Magny

Bantamweight: Cody Garbrandt v Mario Bautista

Bantamweight: Marlon Vera v Pedro Munhoz

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