Weili defends, O’Malley claims bantamweight title

Zhang Weili defended her women’s strawweight championship and Sean O’Malley became the new bantamweight champion in the title fights of UFC 292, held at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on the morning of Sunday 20 August.

Zhang, in the second stint as champion of her division, put up a dominant display in the co-main against challenger Amanda Lemos. Her superiority in takedowns (6-0) and ground control (nearly 15 minutes total) were eclipsed by the striking disparity: 288 to 21. Little wonder, then, that Zhang took a comfortable victory on the judges’ scorecards: 50-43, 50-44, 49-45.

“I'm so happy. I have been training every day, so hard," Zhang said. "Hard training and easy fights. I am not surprised because I have a great team.”

The main event saw an upset triumph for ‘Suga’ O’Malley, who lived up to his pre-match hype and – after an uneventful first round – blasted champion Aljamain Sterling in the second and forced a stoppage 51 seconds in, having put his opponent down with a clinical counter, before a ground-and-pound to force referee Marc Goddard to stop the fight.

“Honestly, this is the most nervous I've ever been for a fight. In my eyes, Aljamain Sterling is the greatest bantamweight of all time," O'Malley said during his post-fight interview. "I always say it only takes one mistake with me. I don't even know if that's a mistake. I'm just that f***ing good.”

O’Malley went on to call out Marlon Vera for a fight in Las Vegas in December. ‘Chito’ is the only fighter to defeat O'Malley in 19 professional matches, handing him a first-round TKO loss in August 2020 when O'Malley appeared to injure his leg.

The rest of the main card featured unanimous decision wins for Ian Machado Garry over Neil Magny in the welterweight division; Mario Bautista over Da’Mon Blackshear in the welterweight category; and Marlon Vera over fellow bantamweight Pedro Munhoz in the opener.

The UFC continues next Sunday, 27 August, with a Fight Night at the Singapore Indoor Arena headlined by a featherweight fight between Max Holloway and Jung Chan-sung, ‘The Korean Zombie’.

UFC 292 – Main card results

- Main event: Bantamweight championship: Sean O’Malley def. Aljamain Sterling via TKO (punches), R2, 0:51

- Co-main event: Women’s strawweight championship: Zhang Weili def. Amanda Lemos via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-44, 49-45), R5, 5:00

- Welterweight: Ian Machado Garry def. Neil Magny via unanimous decision (30-26 30-26 30-24), R3, 5:00

- Bantamweight: Mario Bautista def. Da’Mon Blackshear via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 30-27), R3, 5:00

- Bantamweight: Marlon Vera def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 29-28), R3, 5:00