When Sean O’Malley walks into the Octagon at Boston’s TD Garden on Saturday to challenge Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 292, there will be one subtext: money.

O’Malley made his UFC debut in dramatic fashion on September 12, 2017, in Las Vegas, when he knocked out Alfred Khachakian in a match in Week 2 of Season 1 of “Dana White’s Contender Series”. As doctors crowded around the collapsed Khashakyan, O’Malley climbed the cage and said into the camera, “Welcome to Suga’s show.”

He later said he got as big as Conor McGregor, the biggest draw in mixed martial arts history. McGregor has had eight pay-per-views selling 1.2 million or more in the UFC and had a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather that sold 4.3 million.

O’Malley isn’t nearly there yet. Heck, nine fights in his UFC career, Saturday’s bout will mark his first pay-per-view main event.

But as a lanky 22-year-old lying in the impressive glow of victory in his biggest fight yet, O’Malley was prescient when discussing his fight. He told Yahoo Sports that the one goal that meant more than anything never left his mind for the next six years.

He is looking to parlay his fighting skills into the wealth of generations earned in and out of the ring. He won’t, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea for him to walk to the cage.”For the love of moneyby The O’Jays, particularly the riff that says, “Money, money, money! “

Making money à la McGregor can bring with it the death knells of trying to get what he’s got, and may add stress, but O’Malley appears to be immune to it.

“I mean, I’m kind of a so-called pressured myself and I’ve been saying it since ‘The Contender Series’: I’m going to be the size of Conor McGregor,” O’Malley told Yahoo Sports. “I used to say that before I was even in the UFC and now, here we are, six years later and I’m where I said I’d be. I got a lot of hate when I was in ‘The Contender Series’ and when I was first in the UFC for saying, ‘Hey, I’ll be A paid star. I will fight for the title. I will be the world champion. I have a lot of hate, as self-confident people often do.”

O’Malley is a smart guy who did an honest self-evaluation several years ago. He then realized that if he wanted to reach his financial goals, he would have to make use of his fist strength.

So he set out to get rich as a fighter that many have tried and failed to achieve.

O’Malley actually Rich and has what he called a “very beautiful necklace”. He feels justified even in his choice of profession.

“Most people don’t fight with the idea of ​​being rich,” O’Malley said. “I did. I got into fighting as a business move. I’ve always wanted to be rich and I didn’t see a lot of other ways and I was just naturally good at fighting. So I said, ‘This is it. Not a lot of people look at fighting and say, ‘Oh, I’m going to make $100 million and I’m going to be So rich.” I always looked at her like that.”

Now, he admits he’s not where he wants to be yet in terms of generational wealth. He needs to win this fight, and doing it in spectacular fashion the way McGregor did when he KO’d Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to win the full featherweight title, would help tremendously.

How does O’Malley think he can beat Sterling?

As great a striker as O’Malley is, and one of the best in the sport, every striker who has ever joined MMA has, sooner or later, had to answer the question: What happens the first time you meet this big, strong, burly wrestler? ?

O’Malley’s moment of reckoning is about to arrive. Throughout his life, he has achieved milestone moments with his stunning image. But on Saturday he’ll take on this big, powerful wrestler when he’s standing across the cage from Sterling.

Sterling struck four takedowns against Henry Cejudo, Olympic gold-medal-winning wrestler and one of the greats in MMA history, in a split-decision draw to retain his title at UFC 288.

O’Malley has never faced anyone like Sterling, who is beginning to gain recognition as perhaps the best bantamweight in UFC history.

O’Malley is a huge star six years into his UFC career, and he’s only going to get bigger. He’ll receive a hero’s welcome when he walks into the Octagon around midnight local time on Saturday, and the place will explode if he scores a victory.

Suga is cut differently than most. He’s never been intimidated by the crowd or now, and while this fight could define his career, he insists he’ll be laid back.

“I understand what I have to do and that’s getting out there and beating Aljamen Sterling,” O’Malley said. “The way I do it, the way I do it better, is by being quiet. I don’t really think I have a problem staying calm. I know I’m going to stay calm after I stab him, because I’m going to break him. I’m going to hurt him.”

“I can’t overcommit and push my hips away to where he can grab me. The most important thing for me is that once I stab him, I have to stay calm.

“As far as coming out, I’m not going to let that change me. It’s going to be electric. It’s going to be crazy. But I’m going to be cool and ready to do my job.”

If he does his job and Sterling finishes becoming the champ, maybe it’s time to throw “For the Love of Money” to the arena speakers: Money, money, money, money!