What could be the final bantamweight title defense of Aljamains Sterling arrived at UFC 292 on Saturday night.
Sterling, having defended the belt three times previously, was set to take on Sean O’Malley at the TD Garden in Boston, MA. All signs pointed to Aljo heading to featherweight after the fight, having won nine straight fights coming into the bout. With friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili waiting in the wings and a likely title shot awaiting Sterling at 145lbs, the O’Malley fight could very well be his swan song in the weight class.
As for O’Malley, the most popular fighter to ever emerge from Dana White’s Contender Series, he was looking at his first shot at gold — if he could get past the wrestling of a champ that had become known as a human backpack.
In the co-main event, Weili Zhang was set to defend her strawweight title against Brazil’s Amanda Lemos.
Our picks are in, you know the drill, so let’s get to who we see coming out on top at UFC 292!
| Writer / Fight | Vera vs. Munhoz | Bautista vs. Blackshear | Garry vs. Magny | Zhang vs. Lemos | Sterling vs. O'Malley |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Theodosi (85-53) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Val Dewar (82-59) | |  | | | |
| Alex Behunin (83-61) |  | | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik (80-63) | | | | |  |
| Cade Morehouse (36-32) | | | | | |
| Dylan Rush (72-72) | | |  | | |
| Jay Anderson (73-77) | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (65-77) | | | | | |
There was only one unanimous selection among our team this week, so let’s get that out of the way first. No one sees Amanda Lemos getting the nod over champ Weili Zhang, who will be looking to defend her belt for the first time in her second reign as UFC women’s strawweight champion on Saturday. Lemos has said all week long that she’s being overlooked — could this indicate she’s correct?
Ian Machado Garry, meanwhile, was close to a unanimous pick. Only one writer is siding with Neil Magny, a short-notice replacement stepping up after Geoff Neal was forced out of the fight. The build-up to this one had become ugly during Fight Week, with Garry accusing Neil Magny of child abuse after Magny spoke of “whoppin” his son.
Only two of our writers see Sean O’Malley getting the nod over Aljamain Sterling in the main event, while things were a little more divided when it came to the night’s first two fights, Chito Vera vs. Pedro Munhoz, and Mario Bautista vs. Da’Mon Blackshear.
