Sean O’Malley UFC 292 Interview: Aljamain Sterling is my toughest fight but I’m dangerous for him

I want to make one thing very clear before we start this interview we did not plan the matching yellow shorts I have the screenshots he told me to wear yellow um so we're sitting here like in your living room but I guess like this probably doesn't feel like home to you or it kind of not quite yeah we just I just got the couch in here actually like a couple days ago I've only stated this house once so it it's getting there you know we're we're close to moving everything over and slowly calling it home so it's getting there are you like the kind of person that uh as you're preparing for a fight it matters like I think about um you know something like Muhammad Ali and Deer Lake and like Fedora with uh you know his place in Russia and the woods and everything like do you need to be in a certain frame of mind or could you train for a fight anywhere I mean as far as the location and environment it's all out of camp in camps all the same but mentally definitely it's different going in being in Camp there's the level of the I try to live a very disciplined life outside of Camp as far as my sleep what I eat and and you know making practice I try to keep that very disciplined but in Camp it's just Next Level discipline so yeah as far as location everything's you know very similar as far as where I'm training but uh mentally it's different you seem to pick these places like you said earlier when we were walking around here like peaceful like yeah why do you think that uh that's where you're kind of Thrive when you're away from the cage yeah I think I think peace is kind of what everybody's searching for um yeah and out here it's you know a lot more peaceful big huge trees um there's an Air Force Base not too far so there's a little uh disruption there but it's not too bad it's kind of cool watching them do their Maneuvers and stuff but yeah it's pretty peaceful out here I think uh you know I go out there and knock out you out a lot more opportunities come a lot more you know craziness comes with it with the lifestyle so being able to just have that peace out here is uh super important for me to stay disciplined stay on the grind because winner loses this fight I wanna I wanna you know I want to fight again this year I want to fight you know minimum two times a year I want to stay on the grind Stay Stay fighting stay active and uh you know continue to grow the sugar brand and uh leave a leave uh leave something in this sport like like do something really cool yeah I feel like I've been talking to you like since you came in and go see about how you know if everything goes how how you want it to go and you know you were making grand um you know proclamations from the very beginning they're like that's going to be a challenge man it's going to be a challenge it's going to be the world is kind of looking at you all the time like it so I almost feel like every time I check in with you before a fight like I get an update on that like how has that been it comes down to discipline always comes on discipline like I could go I could be crazy I feel like I'm a crazy person I could you know I like to go have fun do do crazy things but constantly have to remind myself like I I'm only going to be this age for for so long like I only got so many years in this sport I have to keep my head down and keep training and keep getting better keep losing in the gym to get better and uh you know it's a it's kind of a rough lifestyle I mean you're sore every day every week you're sore like today's Thursday so I've trained hard Monday Tuesday Wednesday already um Thursday I'm run down a little bit but uh that's that's every week that's outside of Camp that's in Camp so but yeah just keeping keeping myself in the grind is the most important thing for me do you feel like you even know like Can Can it can a human even like predict how it's going to feel like let's say you continue on this rocket ship that you've been on at some point if there's enough money in the bank and there's enough wins in the column that like that desire to be sore every day is just it wanes like it's just human nature to not want that anymore like if you feel like you even know the answer to that yeah I mean I feel like that's a good question it's hard to uh yeah hard to answer that you don't you never know um you know I feel like I have enough money and assets right now that I don't have to ever fight again which is uh it's a cool feeling I never really felt like that going into a fight like I don't have to make this money to to be you know secure so it's a little different already but not a negative way at all so I don't feel that yet I don't feel like well I don't really have to be sore I don't really have I want to go out there and perform I want to go out there and fight you know I don't feel like yeah maybe you mean look at Connor who knows if he did or didn't uh it's hard to you can only guess what people are actually thinking um so you know I go out there knock out you out knock out the next guy massive Superstar mm-hmm you never know but I'd like to think that I want to you know I I feel like I'm going to stay on the grind until my body can't really handle it anymore 35 36 years old um you know I've wanted since I was 16 when I started training so I want to fight until I can I want to make sure I put in as much work as I possibly can to when I'm done I'm okay being done but it's a scary thought I mean people retire and be like damn they're never gonna do that again it's a scary thought for sure yeah yeah you wrote I think it was on Twitter like kind of a funny thing where like you basically said you're going to do everything that Connor's doing like oh you guys will see me on yachts and parties and this and that you know and they're like oh just kidding um but do you uh like do you think if maybe you weren't seeking this like kind of piece away from Camp that you would be living in like more kind of like a penthouse downtown or like some fancy mansion I mean like this place is nice but it's not like luxurious right right like do you do you kind of stay away from the luxury part of it or as yeah I mean I could if I live downtown it would just not be good I need to live away from everything closer to the gym the better for me just stay in it I enjoyed I enjoy this lifestyle grinding and doing the work I enjoy that um but yeah living downtown would not be good just chasing chicks and chasing that next like going to the club like that's all fun and stuff but you know you wake up the next morning you're like I didn't you know you go and train real hard to wake up the next morning you're sore it feels a lot better than being hungover or something so it's not it's like not hard for me to stay away from that but it's always kind of like there it's like you could be you could be doing completely you've made enough money you're young you can go and do whatever you want but what I do truly want is to train him and and win fights and why why do you like is it is it for the legacy is it for like the self evaluation of like I'm the best like why do you think like what's driving you at this point performing just the addiction to Performance going out there making that walking and making magic happen doing you know do like this fight especially going into my last fight with Peter Young it was like I was like damn that's a scary dude Peter Young's a killer is Russian killer like that was the first time I was like kind of no I wouldn't say scared but like I was like cool this is you know this dude's a tough fight I have that same feeling going in this fight algeman Sterling's the best bantamweight the USC has ever known he's in his prime He's 33 I think somewhere around there that's pretty much prime age right now all the male UFC Champions are in their 30s um he's the best uh Grappler in the division I'm a striker this is a Striker versus Grappler matchup so it's exciting it gets me excited I want to go out there and prove people wrong the last fight everyone thought I was gonna lose that fight and then when I went won the fight just made people so mad I like that for whatever reason I like that so for me to go out there and be a huge Underdog again against algeman you know I it's a weird addiction which fight were they counting you out Maura in this one or the previous one against John probably this one uh I'd say this one I mean algeman beat Peter their last fight um you know I looked at the Peter file my I made a mistake in the Peter I did not expect him to wrestle or shoot at all I was I'd train grappling all the time again Campbell grappling but for like this fight main focus you know we know he's gonna shoot so we gotta have a game plan around that we're towards the Peter fight was like more of a kickboxing Camp um so yeah this fight for sure I mean his Style versus wrestlers Grapplers you know most people pick the wrestlers so this fight for sure how does it feel to go in against the guy that you're expecting to try to Grapple you the whole time it feels you know I did say against Peter I wasn't expecting that for the most part I am usually like that's usually the the game plans come in try to take me down I've fought a lot of Strikers um but I always know that it's they're going to turn into wrestlers the Peter when I was surprised I didn't think I was going to turn into a wrestler that fast um but yeah I it's kind of what we've been planning for since I you know got to the lab since I moved to Arizona was like okay I'm a striker people are going to want to take me down like that's just in the in the game plan for a long time so it's it's it literally just feels like another fight he's just the best at it so it's like a fun challenge yeah you keep referring to yourself as a striker are you a Grappler too like what were you at some point watch a fight be like oh dang Sean O'Malley's a Grappler will we ever say that I mean I I'd like to think of myself as a good Grappler you know I've I've definitely trained with really really good guys but my I like knocking people out like I the only time I'd probably go in there and like try to wrestle is if I'm getting pieced up like Peter was try to you know turn into a little wrestler I definitely can wrestle I definitely can grapple grapple yeah grapple but you know I I always think of myself as a striker the way I knock people out I find people's chin I'll I'll probably always kind of consider myself a striker but I think I'm pretty well-rounded what does he do that's so different or does he do anything different or is he just really good at what everybody else does I think I think he's I think he's really good at what he does he's awkward he kind of throws he throws punches to to set up shots and I think he's just really really strong like you look at him he looks physically strong you know I've had teammates fight him and uh yeah he's strong he's got long arms I talked to Henry's coach on the plane back once or from that last fight Henry Audra and he said Henry said he's just like he's like awkwardly long and strong um so you know that that I think he's really really he's a black belt he's a very high level he trains with really good guys there's coaches are really good he's just yeah he's well round he's been in UFC for you know a long time too does the fight really come down to to just if you if you're on your feet or not I mean is it really can you describe it as simple as that you know if I keep 100 if I keep this fight standing I win I'm not I'm gonna beat him in a strike and fight grappling he's just he's that good I got to be able to survive on the ground get to the next round like I'm not underestimating his I know how good he is it's not no it's not it's not whether he's he can do it or not he can do it we've seen him he choked out Corey in like six seconds he's like uh he's that good so yeah I do believe it is a matter of me not letting him grab me does that mean once he gets here to the ground like you you phrased it there just like that survive until the next round does that mean that you are not like obviously I think if you've seen an opportunity to get up you will get up but it's almost like he uses those situations to get guys yeah I mean he's really good at taking people's back you know the backpack dude uh so yeah I mean you risk getting up giving up your back there's ways to get up without giving up your back but uh I'm going in this fight life or death do not let him grab me that's what I'm that's my mindset going in this fight do not let him grab me he's gonna make a mistake neither of us can really afford to make a mistake he makes too many mistakes on his feet I will find his chin he's cutting a lot of weight there's no secret he's always cut a lot of weight he's just a big guy he probably walks around 165 170. I walk around 155. like he's naturally a bigger guy um so he's gonna have to cut more weight and I know that's going to affect his chin I find people's chins I knock a lot of people out in the first round or at least drop them in the first round I dropped Eddie weinland in the first round Jose Quinones in the first round Thomas Almeida dropped Chris montino on the first I drop people I find their chins pretty fast so it's a matter of who's going to make uh make the mistake first how do you think the UFC feels about this fight like when they talk about it in their uh in their war room what do you think they're saying about it yeah I think they're finally excited for you know bantamweight championship fight not that Henry vs aljo wasn't exciting it was it was it was it was there it was up there Henry or aljo versus TJ it was up there but you know I think I'd just bring a level of excitement to the division that's you know not really been there before so I think I think Dana is excited it's in Boston I know Hunter's excited I know UFC's very excited the fans are very excited um so I think it's just a different level it's a big fight algeman I talked to him like a week ago and and he's like I just I just keep ruining their plants I mean their plan was honestly I've already ruined their plan because their plan was for Henry to take me out and then for Sean to fight this short guy and Henry that he had a lot of confidence against um I'm a terrible matchup for for Sean do you feel like uh he's right that he's he's screwed up some plans at the UFC if they could have written this out they wouldn't have written it exactly this way you know I don't know what the UFC's business they're doing their own thing I don't necessarily know exactly what they're trying to do um but yeah I mean I think Henry's a better he's short wrestler I think he's a better matchup for me I was going for Henry I wanted Henry to win I've made that very clear algae was you know you pick out who's the toughest fight in the division for me it's Al Jermaine Sterling you pick out the toughest guy in the division for pretty much anybody in the division algae means the toughest opponent he's the he's he's the best bantamweight the UFC's ever had he's in his prime he's he's good there's no way around it and that's what's exciting this is the challenge it's a it's a very difficult puzzle I'm gonna have to come very very focused very focused for this fight I can't afford to make mistakes in this fight have you ever gone through a fight without making a mistake do you feel like have you fought a perfect fight micro mistakes like little mistakes it's hard it's hard to what a mistake I mean there's you know the Holly Empire of a fight not nothing really like I fractured my thumb bouncing it off his head I don't know if you'd call it a mistake knocked him on the first round uh yeah there's been fights where I didn't really make any miss anything get touched those are against guys that aren't as you know the algeman's a different level than these guys so am I capable of going in there knocking him out not making a mistake him him making the mistake first and putting them out 100 I've knocked out so many people that that you can't say that's not a percent like that's not possible it's very possible when those lights are on my feet are on the canvas in that octagon the big octagon the big cage not the small one we're in the big cage um you know I'm capable of doing anything do you think he's like that like like his mental makeup when like the lights are really on and all the focus is on him like what do you see in him in those big moments um I mean it's hard to say it doesn't go in there and perform he's on a you know he's on a nice win streak right now the only fight I can really think of obviously the Marlon Morris fight wasn't necessarily him not showing up I think it was just kind of wasn't an accident it was Marlin threw a beautiful little switch kick cracked him knocked him out cold um the first fight with Peter yawn he definitely didn't look good but I mean he would even say that I'm sure he's like yeah it wasn't a good performance by him so I mean you haven't really seen that out of me the Cheeto fight happened I was smoking it before that fight that wasn't me not showing up that was that was a freak accident Pedro Munoz fight I was about to knock him out um until he quit and then uh so yeah I show up he he semi shows up so it's gonna be who shows up better that night do you think uh there will be an opportunity though to like like maybe see some level of discomfort or uncomfortability on his face of like hey maybe the the Tay towns aren't coming like how do you think he's going to respond to some of those moments like like the kind of mental battle within the fight like how do you think that's gonna go this is a very very physical intense game of chess so it's you know there's five rounds 25 minutes um you know might take him a little bit longer to frustrate him not grab me not get a hold of me not be able to take me down I'm cracking with a hard shot make him start questioning things um you know that weight cut I keep bringing it up it's got to play a role I know it's gonna play a role I'm my weight Cuts aren't fun they're not easy and I know his are probably twice as hard and that and I know that messes with them even today right now sitting here I'm not hungry I'm not feeling like I need he's got to be if he's as big as he always claims he is you know we don't really know we just you can say anything you want but if he's that big he's gonna have to cut away he's gonna struggle I mean the last fight last can or last week he's got on the scale I said that was hard they're all hard but it's gonna play with him it's gonna play a role and uh you lose you cut that much weight you dehydrate yourself that much you lose a little brain fluid and I keep coming back to but I find people's chins who's who who in the UFC's dropped Peter yond who in the USC's cracked Peter hard I don't think anyone has I dropped him I rocked him and then dropped him he did crack me back beautifully didn't drop me though he took me down but um I found I found Peter's chin and that's hard to do Peter's he's really really good um that was with the left hand I rocked him dropped him around I have so many weapons that uh I believe I'm gonna I'm a dangerous fight for aljo too so you know it's exciting August 19th we get to see what happens do you have the championship hairstyle picked out yeah I think Danny the Sunday before we leave we'll leave Monday is uh Danny and one of her friends are gonna do uh do my hair still don't really know exactly I think she kind of has an idea of what she wants to do um but I just sit there uncomfortable for hours while they do it so uh but yeah I think I think they have an idea of what the hair is going to be what about the the merch is it this pink one or is it yeah yeah the pink and gold we dropped the pink and gold so I already had all the merch designs and ready to go and everything the jerseys before I knew it was in Boston so if it vote known as a boss environment with a little different color but you know Pink's kind of always been my colored for you know the sugar brand and then gold obviously we're fine for the bells the pink and gold drop is definitely uh it's been doing really well I'm excited about it loved how the jerseys and the whole the whole kit turned out but yeah so that's what we're rocking with the Face-Off that you guys had in Newark and then everything that happened there um I think it was Conor who who said that uh when they had that big world tour with Aldo and they're like oh man it just sends you into training camp like on a jolt of adrenaline because you just squirt off with a guy in front of the crowd like did you feel that and then when you were facing off with him did you feel like ready to fight or did it almost feel like a theatrical performance a little bit like what did that whole thing feel like and then what did you take from it after that I knew I was going to square up with them in a cage but you get an octagon every time I've been in the Octagon I got in a fight so you kind of get that little rush like all right just in case you never know you know his whole team's in there and like you never know I I I I don't not like algae man I think he's you know he's a fine dude whatever but I definitely don't not like him so I wouldn't you know I didn't plan on going in there and scrapping with him just whatever that happened naturally like yelling at each other and yeah you know it's a fight we're trying to kill each other in there so it's it's emotional it's it's exciting I hear this phrase in other sports sometimes where like you can't take it past 100 like you turn something up to 100 it's 100 and like we say like oh you go up to like 110 like no you can't like when you turn it up to 100 it's 100. but like when you walk out in Boston uh for a title fight like will that feel beyond what what you felt before or do you think it'll be a very familiar feeling when I'm walking out I'm very calm I think you you see that in every single fight I've walked out I'm very calm that just that's where I perform best is calm so yeah I I think I walk out the feelings going to be internally the same calm you know the extra the the hype's gonna be insane like you're gonna feel it you're gonna feel it the sugar show is walking out for a title fight in Boston it will be a crazy you'll feel it through the TV you'll watch it you'll hear my song you'll you'll be like oh this is this is a big one but internally I will be calm and uh you know that's a mistake Corey made was and he said it too against algae it was too calm like algae is going to come and Sprint at me and try to grab a hold of me because he knows the dangers of not grabbing me he knows he's gonna get knocked out so you know I have to be very calm but I have to be ready to kill yeah I mean he said the way he phrased it is you can't even touch the black line like that black line the Octagon you can't even touch that one because once you touch that one then there's only so much space between that in the cage like this is like a fight for like every inch it feels like this yeah absolutely I mean algebrae is lucky there's a cage without a cage if we're fighting in a football field I knock him out every time he's lucky there's a cage that's that's that's what he's his plant game plan I mean there's no secret in each other's game plans yeah you really you literally put yourself in the in the in the mind frame in the locker room of like uh like we're fighting to death oh yeah I mean when you're in the back you have to it's a weird I mean saying it when you're not in the back feels weird like what am I gonna think like that but when you're back there and you're walking out it's exactly how you feel yeah it's weird it's a weird feeling you don't really feel that going you don't really feel that like in sparring you don't feel that you know uh but in a fight you definitely feel that you feel like it's killer be killed you think everybody's like that every fighter that goes there has that um I think uh the elite top guys feel like that yeah for sure you like that feeling yeah I mean it's a keep doing it you know it's you keep coming back to it it's part of the it's part of the game it's part of the you know I like fighting I like performing so you got to deal with those emotions too I feel like I've gotten very good at dealing with those emotions and following my breath and being calm um yeah it's an interesting feeling you knock him out how would you guess that you're gonna react to that it's hard to say it's hard to put yourself in that kind of uh scenario in Boston you know knocking out the greatest bandwid of all time it's hard to guess how you react it's just gonna I'll react however whatever you know who knows if the fourth round fifth round I might be so tired boom knock them out might just be like oh it's over first round boom knock them out still have some energy run around I don't know we'll see we get to see August 19th how I react after I knock him out do you feel different every time you knock somebody out like is it is it like a completely new experience every time or is it is it similar yeah it's always pretty similar I was just algebra would be the best guy that I've knocked out so I think that'll that'll definitely be extra there'll be a little extra excitement on that one for sure you know for the Bell the best bathroom of all time and I knock them out that that's gonna feel different than any knockout for sure 100 does the word like Champion come into your mind does it mean anything to you um I feel like I've lived a champion lifestyle for for quite a bit of years for a long time as far as eating right being in the gym can consistently recovery wise you know make prioritizing sleep I feel like I've lived Like A Champion for a long time um and I think that's what that's what it's about just living like a champion as far as being the champ having the belt yeah that'll be cool that means more money more bigger brand deals more stuff like that but as far as just being a champion mentally I I've been that for a while yeah he told me before the yawn fight that like when when this after this fight like it's been steadily steadily increasing increasing then I feel like it's going to be a rocket and I'm going to ride it for a while um what what happens if if and when you knock out algema in the main event in Boston yeah yeah that's it's crazy to think about um you know all goes all goes well I'm back in Vegas defending the belt um in fact is that that I want to stay I don't want to get the belt and just kind of wait around I want to get the belt and I want to I want to defend the belt I don't really think you're a champion until you defend the belt so get going out there getting the job done back to work I don't wanna I wanna you know take advantage of the my name being out there you know take advantage of all that stuff do the do the do the rounds but gotta get back to work

Channel: ESPN MMA

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Id: SmwlDlTTxeA

Length: 24min 25sec (1465 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 13 2023