UFC 292: Aljamain Sterling has 'greatness' on his mind entering title defense vs. Sean O'Malley

He reigns over the UFC bantamweight division as its undisputed champion. He owns multiple homes, has money in the bank, and is about to launch his Funk Harbor Jamaican rum.

Throughout his decade in the UFC, Uniondale's Aljamain Sterling has always had two goals in mind: become a champion and set himself up financially. So what’s left?

“I'm chasing greatness, man,” Sterling told Newsday. “I'm chasing something to push myself beyond the limits that I thought I could never reach. So let me try to attain those goals, get past Sean, and then we can see what's next.”

Next up is Sean O’Malley on Saturday at UFC 292 in Boston, as Sterling goes for his fourth consecutive title defense. That would extend his record among UFC bantamweights.

“I have two more things on my list that I want to accomplish as a competitor in terms of accolades,” Sterling said. “That’s become a champ-champ. [Secondly] I think if I could do something like that, then I truly become immortalized in the history books. That's what it's all about for me.”

Sterling (23-3) is well on his way toward those goals. He said his plans include beating O’Malley on Saturday, then moving up to featherweight to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for his title. Such “champ-champ” status would put Sterling, 34, in a select group. But his work in the bantamweight division already has him in elite status and firmly implanted in the conversation of 'the best to ever do it' at 135 pounds.

Sterling brings a nine-fight win streak into UFC 292, the longest in UFC bantamweight history (and one ahead of teammate and No. 1-ranked Merab Dvalishvili). Other firsts in the division for Sterling include wins (14), total fight time (3:49:49), control time (1:08:36) and total strikes landed (1,646). He is top-three in six other categories and top-five in an additional four statistics.

“I think he's accomplished way beyond what he wanted to accomplish already," trainer Ray Longo said after Sterling’s open workout at LAW MMA last Friday. "And I think he's in a great space. He's grateful for everything he has, and I think that's why he's dangerous right now.

"I'm going to go back to the first Petr Yan fight — whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. This kid didn’t die. He’s getting stronger and stronger. Confidence is at an all-time high."

Don’t confuse Sterling’s confidence with complacency. He knows full well what’s in front of him in O’Malley (16-1, 1 no contest). The 28-year-old from Montana, who trains at the MMA Lab in Arizona, is four inches taller with a lankier frame.

O’Malley ranks first among UFC bantamweights in strikes landed per minute (7.47), striking differential (4.04) and significant strike accuracy (60.9%). He also has 11 victories by knockout, including five of his eight UFC wins.

“He's going to be the toughest test to date,” Sterling said. “He's got good tools. He's fast. He’s got good reflexes. He used to play basketball, so he’s got some quick little fancy things like that. So I have to stay sharp, see the shots coming, make him miss, close the distance, climb his back like a tree and just strangle him.”

Watch on

*Newsday may receive a commission on purchases made through this link, which helps support the journalism we bring to readers.

The narrative surrounding this fight when it was announced shortly after Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo last May was that three months in between fights is a short turnaround for a champion, and that the UFC rarely, if ever, does that to one of its belt-holders.

But, now that those three months have passed, and Sterling looks as sharp as he ever has in training, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing.

“I think it made it easier for me to make the weight,” Sterling said. “So I think they thought it was going to backfire, and ‘they’ just means the opposition. I think it's going to work to my advantage.”

Sterling split his training camp between his home in Las Vegas and the Island. Longo agreed the three-month turnaround wasn’t a bad thing.

“In hindsight, I think we're going to say it helped him,” said Longo, trainer of more than a dozen UFC fighters and three champions. “He was very hesitant at the beginning, but I think he's going to be fine.”

By Mark La Monica

mark.lamonica@newsday.comLaMonicaMark

Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.