Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Aljamain Sterling
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 18 | 5 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 8 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.61 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 31 documented bouts
In the UFC: 16-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.3 wins over .500
Sean O'Malley
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 12 | 3 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 1 | 0 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 6 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.69 · 13 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 23 documented bouts
In the UFC: 8-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.1 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Aljamain Sterling
Distance 77.2% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 10.1% (norm 6.2%) · Ground 12.7% (norm 6.4%)
Sean O'Malley
Distance 96.3% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 1.3% (norm 6.2%) · Ground 2.4% (norm 6.4%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Aljamain Sterling
Head 64.0% (norm 77.5%) · Body 23.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 12.7% (norm 8.4%)
Sean O'Malley
Head 74.7% (norm 77.5%) · Body 19.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 5.9% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Sterling L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med | O'Malley L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 941 / 2066 | 45.5% | 39.2% | 1074 / 1805 | 59.5% | 39.2% |
| In the clinch | 209 / 270 | 77.4% | 69.0% | 20 / 25 | 80.0% | 69.0% |
| On the ground | 257 / 339 | 75.8% | 70.2% | 37 / 45 | 82.2% | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 703 / 1712 | 41.1% | 35.3% | 759 / 1401 | 54.2% | 35.3% |
| To the body | 443 / 622 | 71.2% | 66.9% | 269 / 364 | 73.9% | 66.9% |
| To the legs | 261 / 341 | 76.5% | 79.2% | 103 / 110 | 93.6% | 79.2% |
Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Bantamweight: 121 fighters · Bantamweight: 121 fighters).
What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man
Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.
| Zone | vs Sterling L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med | vs O'Malley L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 567 / 1534 | 37.0% | 39.4% | 517 / 1402 | 36.9% | 39.4% |
| In the clinch | 92 / 134 | 68.7% | 70.6% | 33 / 57 | 57.9% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 51 / 71 | 71.8% | 72.1% | 83 / 115 | 72.2% | 72.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 355 / 1230 | 28.9% | 34.9% | 301 / 1088 | 27.7% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 190 / 302 | 62.9% | 66.1% | 93 / 180 | 51.7% | 66.1% |
| To the legs | 165 / 207 | 79.7% | 78.8% | 239 / 306 | 78.1% | 78.8% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Sterling has more cage time on record.