UFC 292 took place this past weekend from a sold-out TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, with Sean O’Malley claiming the UFC Bantamweight Championship with a highlight-reel knockout in the main event. Read our review of an incredible UFC 292 event below.

As usual, the main and co-main events delivered, with incredible performances from both victors. The rest of the UFC 292 main card saw a new star born, with Ian Machado Garry absolutely dominating Neil Magny on his way to a unanimous decision victory. Mario Bautista and Marlon “Chito” Vera also secured wins in their respective Bantamweight bouts.

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The Suga Era Begins With A Pinpoint Knockout

In the UFC 292 main event, Sean O’Malley finally reached his destiny by becoming the UFC Bantamweight Championship with a stunning second-round knockout of Aljamain Sterling. With a pretty hostile build-up to the fight, Sterling and O’Malley were toe-to-toe in the middle of the cage while Bruce Buffer was still doing his introductions.

When the bell rang, the first round was tentative, with neither man landing much damage. The second round began with much of the same right up until O’Malley sat down on a laser-like counter right hand, which landed perfectly. Somehow Sterling did not go unconscious immediately, but O’Malley closed the show with some brutal ground and pound.

Since his debut on Dana White’s Contender Series, O’Malley was immediately a star, with his confident personality, knockout power and some Snoop Dogg commentary on his side. After several perceived road bumps in his rise through the sport, O’Malley made the most of his title shot. The UFC clearly believes O’Malley has the potential to be their next big mainstream star, evident by their extremely rare posting of the PPV main event knockout across their social media channels.

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In his post-fight Octagon interview, O’Malley mentioned Marlon “Chito” Vera, who has a win over him, as potentially his first title defence in December. O’Malley definitely wants the chance to avenge his sole UFC loss, and if he can get through Chito, there is an absolute murderer’s row of fighters in the Bantamweight division to keep him busy for years to come. No matter how long it lasts, the Suga Era has begun.

Weili Zhang Secures P4P #1 Spot With Domination of Amanda Lemos

In the UFC 292 co-main event, Weili Zhang defended her title with arguably one of the most dominant performances of all time against Amanda Lemos. With both women known as powerful finishers, a back-and-forth war was expected for as long as it may have lasted. But we saw Zhang put on a brutal masterclass over five rounds.

Throughout the fight, Lemos showed flashes of finishing potential, with several solid submission attempts and haymakers thrown with reckless abandon. But Zhang was too good at every point, dominating the fight on the feet and the ground and setting a ridiculous record for the most significant strike differential in a women’s bout in UFC history. Zhang landed 288 strikes across the 25 minutes, compared to Lemos’ 21 strikes.

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There are two clear title contenders in the UFC’s Strawweight division who are worthy opponents for Zhang’s next title defence. Tatiana Suarez has been dominant since returning from injury, remaining undefeated and showing a ground game that is levels above her competition. But if the UFC wants to return to China, it will be hard to go past an All-China title fight against Yan Xioanan.

Katona and Holobaugh Win The Ultimate Fighter Season 31

The UFC 292 prelims featured the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 31: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler. In the Lightweight final, UFC veteran Kurt Holobaugh secured his return to the UFC with an impressive triangle choke submission victory over Austin Hubbard. Holobaugh chained together several submission attempts with a remarkable scramble, eventually locking in a triangle choke to claim the TUF 31 Lightweight title.

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In the TUF 31 Bantamweight final, Brad Katona made history by becoming the first-ever two-time TUF Champion with a unanimous decision victory over Cody Gibson in an all-time great fight. The two men went to war for the full 15 minutes, but it was Katona who edged out the majority of the exchanges and maintained his pressure to claim the TUF 31 Bantamweight title.

The UFC has been on an incredible run in 2023, with PPV after PPV delivering incredible fights and historic moments. The future looks even brighter with the arrival of the Suga Era.

Find all the results from UFC 292: Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley here.