The current UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has shared his opinions on Sean O'Malley and he believes that he is "the real deal" — this and much more on Tuesday's Fightful Fix Roundup.
Aljamain Sterling thinks that Sean O'Malley is "the real deal"
The newly crowned UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is definitely not short of contenders in the bantamweight division as it is now one of the most stacked and high-level divisions in the whole of the UFC.
A potential challenger in the future to Sterling's championship belt is the young star Sean O'Malley, O'Malley has been a rising star in the UFC for a few years now ever since he made his incredible debut on Dana White's Contender Series.
Since then O'Malley made his full UFC debut and has a respectable record of 5-1 in the promotion including impressive finishes over veterans such as Eddie Wineland and Thomas Almeida.
O'Malley has probably got a long way to go before he can get a title shot but his skills are clearly there and even the champion of the division can see that.
In an interview with James Lynch, Sterling spoke very highly about O'Malley and he also suggested that O'Malley would be a tough fight for most in the bantamweight division.
Sterling said "O’Malley, I think he’s the real deal. We don’t know how good he is off of his back yet. But in terms of his feet, his footwork, he’s a tough out I think for a lot of people because he’s long, he’s rangy, and he knows how to move on the feet."
O'Malley is still not in the UFC rankings but if he gets a few more wins then there is no doubt that he will break into the top 15 of the division.
Do you agree with Sterling that O'Malley is "the real deal?"
MMA legend Pedro Rizzo on who he thinks Francis Ngannou's biggest threat is
MMA legend Pedro Rizzo has given his opinion on who he thinks Francis Ngannou's biggest threat is and the answer which he gives is an answer which not a lot of people would give.
When speaking to Sherdog, Rizzo said that he thinks that Daniel Cormier would be the biggest threat to Francis Ngannou.
Rizzo said "Jones used to have problems with fighters of similar range, as we could see against (Alexander) Gustafsson and (Dominick) Reyes. Even gaining some weight, he is not a natural heavyweight with one-punch knockout power."
Rizzo continued by also saying "I truly believe that if Daniel Cormier is able to get in shape again, he would be the worst matchup for Ngannou.”
Rizzo then went on to give more reasoning behind his opinion "Good examples of that are his fight against Derrick Lewis and both against Anthony Johnson, two beasts with impressive knockout power, and neither could stay on their feet for too long against DC. Cormier just doesn’t accept the standup fight, that´s why I believe he would be such a bad matchup for Ngannou.”
Do you agree with Rizzo?
Leon Edwards predicts Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal 2
Top UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards has weighed in on how he thinks the rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal will go down at UFC 261.
Usman and Masvidal are scheduled to rematch after Usman heavily campaigned for another fight with Masvidal after he impressively defeated his former teammate Gilbert Burns.
In the first fight between Usman and Masvidal, Usman dominated the fight and got a decision win, however, with Masvidal only taking that fight on five days notice it has left both fans and pundits undecided on how the rematch will go now that Masvidal has a reasonable time to prepare.
Leon Edwards does not believe that there will be much difference in the rematch.
In an interview with ESPN, Edwards gave his opinions on how the rematch will go down.
Edwards said “If I had to put money on it, I’d probably favor Usman. I just can’t see what Masvidal could do differently. He’s the smaller man, he doesn’t look strong in the clinch. His wrestling isn’t great. I just can’t see what he does that’s gonna be amazing to switch up his style. He’s fought the same way for a long time.”
Do you agree with Edwards?
Cat Zingano reveals that she was offered to face Miesha Tate in a grappling match by ONE Championship
Miesha Tate is set to return to the Octagon in a few months against fellow MMA veteran Marion Reneau.
This will be Tate's first fight in nearly five years.
The news about Tate's return came quite out of the blue to fans and the media, but not to Cat Zingano.
That is because Zingano was offered the chance to face Tate in a grappling match in ONE Championship around 18 months ago.
Zingano said "About a year and a half ago, I had been asked to do a jiu-jitsu match against her in ONE (Championship) so I knew that she has been having the itch to be competing again. So I’m not so surprised to hear that she comes back and she had her babies, she looks great. She got herself back in shape and that always makes you question if ‘should I go fight right now how would I do?’ And I’m sure that’s where she’s at.”
Kevin Holland believes that a rematch with Derek Brunson will be "inevitable" once he does "something special" to Marvin Vettori
Kevin Holland is already showing signs that he is going to be as active in 2021 as he was in 2020.
Just a few weeks ago Holland fought Derek Brunson and this upcoming weekend he will fight Marvin Vettori as he replaces the injured Darren Till.
When speaking to ESPN, Holland spoke about a possible rematch with Brunson in the future.
Holland said "That was me having a good time, no excuses. I called him Bumson the whole time but I came up the bum that night. Props to that. After I get done with Marvin Vettori, granted that goes a special way, I get one more and it is kind of inevitable I get that rematch. He is probably like heck no, I’d retire before I get that rematch. We will get it one way or another. Even if I have to do it on a video game, we will get it.”
Do you think that Holland will get through Vettori and rematch Brunson?
Marvin Vettori blasts MMA media for giving Jake Paul publicity
Top UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori is not impressed at all with the way that Jake Paul is being publicized in the media.
Paul, who has multiple million followers all across his social media has turned into a professional boxer and currently has a record of two wins and zero losses and is scheduled to fight the former Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren this month.
When speaking to MMA Fighting, Vettori slammed MMA media for giving Paul so much publicity.
Vettori said "It’s bad, it’s disrespectful. The most disrespectful is also this bullshit ass media that I’ve seen all over where they give him credit. With media, it’s a give and take, but at the end of the day the silver lining of every media should be informing."
Do you agree with Vettori's comments?
Francis Ngannou opens as a big betting favorite over Derrick Lewis
After it was reported recently that the UFC may be sick of waiting for Jon Jones, a rematch between Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis looks to be the way in which the UFC is heading.
The odds for the potential rematch between the two have been released and they see Ngannou as a big betting favorite even though Lewis won the first fight.
Future Events:
— BestFightOdds (@BestFightOdds) April 5, 2021
Derrick Lewis (+275)
Francis Ngannou (-350)https://t.co/VO30HT1Mz6 @thebeast_ufc @francis_ngannou
How do you think a rematch between Ngannou and Lewis would go?
Dan Hooker targetting fight with Rafael dos Anjos
Dan Hooker's hopes of a UFC title shot were ruined when he got knocked out by Michael Chandler in the first round at UFC 257.
Hooker is now looking ahead to his next fight.
Speaking to John Hyun Ko of South China Morning Post, Hooker spoke about his desire to fight the former champion Rafael dos Anjos next.
Hooker said "That’s a fight I would like. That’s a former champion. Coming back beating [Paul] Felder. He did incredible in that fight. Behind Gaethje, (Dos Anjos) would be number one on my list."
Hooker continually reiterated that his dream fight would be against Justin Gaethje but he thinks that Gaethje will rightfully wait for a top-five guy next.
How do you think a fight between Hooker and dos Anjos would go?
Khabib Nurmagomedov calls Zabit Magomedsharipov "the best featherweight in the world"
In MMA the fighters who hail out of Russia or more specifically Dagestan stick together.
This again is the case as the former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has now dubbed the UFC featherweight contender Zabit Magomedsharipov as "the best featherweight in the world."
With best Featherweight in the World -- @zabeast_mma pic.twitter.com/Kh4Ym72JoZ
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) April 5, 2021
Magomedsharipov is 6-0 in the UFC and holds impressive wins over top contenders such as Calvin Kattar and Jeremy Stephens.
Alonzo Menifield talks his most recent win and targets a June return
Alonzo Menifield is coming off a very impressive submission win over Fabio Cherant.
In an interview with BjPenn.com, Menifield spoke about his performance and what his plans for the future are.
“I wanted to cement the fact I’m an MMA fighter, not just a knockout artist. When we looked into the opponent, coach Sayif said I could out grapple this guy. That is what we tried,” Menifield said. “We have worked on chokes and kimuras and even leg locks this entire camp. As soon as his arm was stuck, I knew the Von Flue was there and coach had yelled it out. I didn’t think I would get it, because he could’ve pulled his arm out but when he didn’t, I knew I got it.”
Menifield also revealed that he is targetting a return to the Octagon in June.
Menifield said "I’m thinking as soon as possible, no later than June for me. It’s also about whoever the UFC offers me. They can give me anyone at any time."
Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates and predictions.
