Mystic O’Malley? Aljamain Sterling not ‘good buddies’ with Merab, secretly rooting for ‘Suga’ show at UFC 306

Aljamain Sterling got walloped by Sean O’Malley at UFC 292.

If “Suga” can replicate that performance at UFC 306 inside The Sphere, where he defends his bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas, then it takes some of the sting from “Funk Master’s” wound because it proves O’Malley is just as good as he says he is.

“Aljo probably hopes I beat Merab,” O’Malley told TMZ (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “It makes Aljo look better. I’m just curious if Merab was happy that I knocked out Aljo because if I didn’t knock out Aljo, Merab still would be waiting around. So I have a little theory that maybe they’re not as good buddies as we all thought.”

Trying to remain loyal to friends in the same weight class is a BAD IDEA.

“I mean, I don’t know what Aljo’s going to tell Merab,” O’Malley continued. “Like, ‘F*ck, he’s fast, he’s sharp, he’s accurate, he’s hard to take down, good luck.’ There wasn’t a lot of success Aljo had in that fight. If anything, Aljo probably shouldn’t tell him anything because it’s probably just going to make him a little bit nervous.”

Sterling has since moved to featherweight, capturing a unanimous decision victory over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 last May. His next assignment will gauge his championship mettle when he collides with No. 6-ranked Movsar Evloev as part of the UFC 307 lineup next month in Salt Lake City (more on that card here).

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 306 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 306 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 306: “O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 306 fight card and PPV lineup click here.