Aljamain Sterling took a gamble. He banked on the supposed star power of Sean O’Malley, but alas, he was left unimpressed.
Sterling’s record stands at 23-4. He lost his title to O’Malley (17-1) in a second-round knockout. This was the main event at UFC 292 in August. Sterling got a share of the pay-per-view sales. But, the figures were a letdown.
He didn’t reveal the exact figure, but Sterling had something to say on his YouTube channel. He got the pay-per-view numbers and was taken aback. “These are the numbers that this guy was trying to say he’s this big pay-per-view star?” Sterling questioned. He was astounded.
He continued, “When I saw the numbers, I literally said to her, ‘If I had any idea this is what the numbers would have been, if I could have predicted that this is what it would have been, my ass would have waited and taken my vacation then.'”
Three months before this, Sterling had a successful title defense against Henry Cejudo at UFC 288. Sterling thought he’d get the biggest payday of his life from the O’Malley fight. After all, O’Malley is touted as one of the biggest stars of the sport today.
Sterling admitted, “I rolled the dice. I trusted that the bag was going to be this blow-me-away kind of thing, bigger than all the other ones. It wasn’t.” But he’s not bitter. He added, “With that being said, it is what it is. I’m still happy I made some extra money. I had a really good year. I can’t complain about that. Life’s good. I can take care of myself. I can take care of my family.”
Sterling’s next move? He’s decided to move up to featherweight. He wanted a fight against former champ Max Holloway. But instead, he’s set to face Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.