BOSTON — The main event is official.
Fight week marches on, and the official weigh-ins are in the books for UFC 292. And Saturday's bantamweight mixed martial arts fight between Helena's Sean O'Malley and UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is ready to roll.
O'Malley, the challenger, was the first to the scale on Friday morning in Boston, and he weighed in at 135 pounds on the dot.
Soon after came Sterling, the division's reigning champ. He also weighed in right at 135, solidifying the championship bout.
The weigh-ins added to what's been a wild week in Boston with plenty of hype surrounding the fight.
During Thursday's press conference in front of UFC fans, O'Malley drew the largest pop and reaction from the crowd, and it didn't take long for him and Sterling to begin trading barbs.
"I feel like Aljo's fighting for the Suga belt," O'Malley said. "I definitely feel like the A-side, it's pretty obvious, but I still have to go in there and knock his (expletive) out and just keep getting better and better and bigger and bigger."
"Who has this guy fought?" Sterling yelled back. "He is going to get exposed on Saturday night. Exposed. I cannot wait. I cannot wait."
O'Malley responded by taking his sunglasses off and looking at him, with Sterling adding, "Yeah take those glasses off let me see those pretty little eyes."
O'Malley shot back, saying, "Who did your hair? That (expletive) is ugly as hell."
With chants of "Sean O'Malley" and "Aljo sucks" ringing throughout TD Garden, it was a fiery presser, with other talents like Irishman Ian Garry and veteran Neil Magny going back and forth heatedly, with the crowd loving every minute of it.
The UFC's return to Boston for the first time since 2019, coupled with a marquee star like O'Malley, means Saturday's fight card carries a large magnitude with a lot of eyeballs expected to tune in.
"Saturday night is a big night for O'Malley to possibly win and become world champion, and then for (Sterling), to knock off the No. 2 contender in the world right now, and continue to build his legacy," UFC president Dana White said. "It's a big fight on Saturday night."
And O'Malley offered his prediction on how it will all play out.
"SportsCenter's Top 10 plays, coming in at No. 1, Suga Sean O'Malley knocks out Aljamain, poop stain, Sterling," O'Malley yelled to a raucous crowd.
There's just one more sleep until UFC 292. All of the buildup is done, and come Saturday night, we'll see who backs up their talk when either O'Malley or Sterling walk out of the octagon with the UFC's bantamweight belt around their waist.
