UFC 292: Sterling vs O’Malley & Weili vs Lemos Headliners Set
Aljamain Sterling vs Sean O’Malley is set to main event UFC 292 PPV while Zhang Weili vs Amanda Lemos will be the co-main event bout, UFC has announced.
Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley had a face-off at UFC 288 after Sterling beat Henry Cejudo via split decision in the main event. While Sterling accepted a fight against O’Malley on the spot, UFC President Dana White later said in the press conference that the promotion was targeting the fight for Boston in August.
Dana White announced the complete main card for UFC 291 on Tuesday evening along with two headliner bouts for UFC 292. The event is set to take place at TD Garden Arena in Boston, MA, on August 19, 2023. This will be UFC’s first event in Boston in 4 years.
Sterling will be defending UFC Bantamweight Championship for the fourth time. He won the title in March 2021 via disqualification due to an illegal knee strike from Petr Yan. He retained the title against Yan in a rematch at UFC 273 an year later before beating TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280. By beating Cejudo, he took his unbeaten streak to 9 fights.
Sean O’Malley is the #2 ranked UFC bantamweight after Sterling’s teammate Merab Dvalishvilli. He has undefeated in his last 5 fights, including a win over Petr Yan at UFC 280 and a draw against Pedro Munhez at UFC 276.
Zhang Weili won UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship back for the second time by beating Carla Esparza at UFC 281. She lost the title in her first reign to Rose Namajunas. Weili’s UFC resume boasts of wins over Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Jéssica Andrade.
Amanda Lemos has 7 wins in her last 8 fights in UFC after she lost her promotional debut in July 2017. This loss came against Jéssica Andrade in April 2022 after which she has defeated Michelle Waterson and Marina Rodriguez. She also has a prior win over Angela Hill.
No other matches are announced for UFC 292 as of yet. A bantamweight bout between Cody Garbrandt and Mario Bautista was earlier reported to be in work for the event.
