UFC 292: Sean O'Malley stuns Aljamain Sterling to win UFC bantamweight title

O'Malley earned his sixth stoppage win since making his debut in the promotion in 2017

Sean O'Malley stunned Aljamain Sterling with a second-round stoppage to win the bantamweight title at UFC 292 in Boston, Massachusetts.

O'Malley, 28, landed a perfect counter-right hand, dropping fellow American Sterling before ending the contest with punches on the ground.

The win completes an impressive ascension for O'Malley, who has become one of the UFC's most marketable stars.

"This was the most nervous I've ever been for a fight," said O'Malley.

"Aljamain is the best bantamweight of all time, so yeah, I was nervous, but I never lost the confidence because I know what I possess - this right hand, baby."

On the undercard, Ireland's Ian Garry extended the unbeaten start to his career as he dominated American Neil Magny on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

And in the co-main event, China's Zhang Weili outclassed Brazil's Amanda Lemos to defend her strawweight title with a unanimous decision victory.

O'Malley justifies the hype

O'Malley was granted his title shot after a narrow win over Petr Yan in October, which was his eighth in 10 bouts since earning a UFC contract after impressing on reality TV show, Dana's White's Contender Series.

But Sterling, 34, who was making the fourth defence of his title, had argued pre-fight O'Malley did not deserve the opportunity and he had been fast-tracked into the bout because of his popularity.

O'Malley, who was competing in his first UFC title bout, was cheered by the Boston crowd on his way to the octagon while Sterling embraced heavy boos as he smiled and gestured towards the television cameras.

Many pre-fight pundits had predicted Sterling would out-wrestle O'Malley during the fight but in the few grappling exchanges the pair shared, the challenger was able to navigate to safety.

After a tentative opening round the decisive moment came in the second when O'Malley slipped back from a Sterling punch and countered with a perfectly-timed right hand, sending a dazed champion to the canvas.

Following a number of follow-up punches on the ground the referee stopped the fight, prompting an eruption of noise from the crowd.

After the bout, O'Malley called out Ecuador's Marlon Vera, who defeated Pedro Munhoz earlier in the evening.

Impressive Garry wins again

Garry is a former welterweight champion in UK-based promotion Cage Warriors

Garry, 25, who has won all 13 fights of his career, described the contest against 36-year-old Magny as the biggest of his life in the week leading up to the fight, with the American lying two spots above him at 11th in the UFC welterweight rankings.

But there was a gulf in class between the pair's performances as Garry won his sixth fight in the UFC since signing with the promotion in 2021.

Garry adopted a leg-kicking game plan which worked to perfection, dropping an increasingly wobbly Magny multiple times during the welterweight bout.

Following the contest, Garry, who cemented the claim to be the most exciting Irish fighter in the UFC since former two-time champion Conor McGregor, called for a bout with Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson.

"This breaks me into the UFC top-10, I'm 25 years of age and I'm telling you now, I need to prove myself as the best striker this division has ever seen," said Garry.

"And to be the best striker you need to beat the best strikers, and everybody has Stephen Wonderboy Thompson on that list, so give me Thompson whenever, wherever for five rounds.

"I'll prove to you I'm the new generation of strikers in the world."

Record-breaking Weili defends strawweight crown

Two-time champion Weili out-struck and out-grappled Lemos across every round in a heavily one-sided co-main event.

Weili, 34, was making the first defence of her second title reign after defeating Carla Esparza in November, while Lemos, 36, came into the bout with seven wins in her past eight fights.

Apart from a d'arce choke submission attempt from Lemos in the second round, Weili rarely looked in danger as she soared ahead on the scorecards.

At the fight's conclusion, stats showed Weili had landed 288 strikes to Lemos' 21 - a record-breaking disparity for a women's title fight - and secured six unanswered takedowns.

"Thank you everybody. Boston, I feel here is my home, the energy you give to me is unbelievable, I feel the energy you gave me," said Weili.

"I've been training every day so hard. I'm not surprised [I won] because I have a great team and all the coaches gave me the technique to win."