Aljamain Sterling says UFC used 'the Jake Paul route' to make Sean O'Malley world champion

28/08/2024 21:48

Aljamain Sterling claims the UFC helped Sean O’Malley become a champion, going as far as to say he took the ‘Jake Paul route’.

While ‘Suga’ has decimated his opponents inside the cage, ‘The Funk Master’ is convinced he’s done so because the match-ups were favourable.

Aljamain Sterling compares Sean O’Malley to Jake Paul

On September 14, at UFC 306, Sean O’Malley will defend his world title against Merab Dvalishvili in a clash that has caught the imagination of the public.

Alas, Aljamain Sterling won’t be watching with popcorn, as he believes his rival has had an enormous amount of help in getting into the position he is in today.

The Jamaican-born fighter claims O’Malley’s career is akin to that of Jake Paul. While the 135-pound King has produced many a memorable performance, according to Sterling, like the YouTube phenomenon, he’s only done so because the cards have been stacked in his favor.

On an episode of Verse Us with Eric Nicksack, he explained that he felt hard done by as following on from his victory over Henry Cejudo, he was given a far shorter recovery time than necessary to jump in with someone like O’Malley.

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He said: “I want to see the best of the best compete—no excuses. Now, enter O’Malley; he fights one ranked guy and gets a title shot, split decision albeit. This is not me hating; it’s just me calling a spade a spade.

“He’s supposed to fight me next, which would give me enough time to prepare. But instead, they [UFC] say, ‘Oh, Henry Cejudo is coming back we want you to fight him’.

“In the back of their mind, they’re like, ‘Whoever wins this, we’re going to turn him around for August’. So, he knows all of this. Only O’Malley can disclose this. Or at least for sure, the UFC knew this is what they wanted to do: give him the best opportunity they could to become a world champion by hindering and stacking the deck against his opponent.

“It’s the Jake Paul route. Stacking the deck, so you get these favorable match-ups and wins.”

Is Merab Dvalishvili hindered in his fight with Sean O’Malley

Sterling eventually lost his belt to O’Malley, and now experts are fearful that Dvalishvili will fall short of beating the American due to a cut sustained above his eye.

Bizarrely, he chose to post about the incident on Instagram, which prompted Dana White to call him, ‘next-level stupid’.

However, while many believe the Georgian will be at a disadvantage right from the first bell, the fighter himself doesn’t seem remotely concerned.

He uploaded another video, in which he removed the stitches himself, prompting a hilarious reaction from the UFC President.

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