Three Studs, Three Duds From Electric UFC 292 In Boston

BOSTON — UFC 292 featured a number of key performances at TD Garden in the company’s first pay-per-view event in Boston since 2018.

From title fights to rising contenders, the card had many fighters who are trending in different directions.

Here are three studs and three duds from UFC 292 at TD Garden.

STUDS

Ian Machado Garry
The 25-year-old showed legitimate potential for the future of the welterweight division. Garry dominated Neil Magny with a barrage of leg kicks throughout the fight and took control with a series of calf kicks.

Magny waited on the ground, looking to use his grappling skills on multiple occasions. But Garry waited for his opponent to stand up each time and kept control of the fight.

The Irish fighter won his sixth straight fight in the UFC and now has a chance to move into a top-10 spot in the division.

Zhang Weili
And still.

Weili put on a dominant performance for a full five rounds, even in the midst of nearly being submitted on two separate occasions.

The women’s strawweight champion kept the pressure on all night with a dominant striking attack and nearly 15 minutes of ground control. The 34-year-old also set a UFC women’s record for the largest striking differential in a bout.

The two-time champion defended her title with her third consecutive victory.

Sean O’Malley
And new.

O’Malley truly did offer a new challenge to Aljamain Sterling.

As a true striker, the 28-year-old seized the moment with a crushing right hand in the second round. He finished the stoppage victory seconds later.

O’Malley becomes the new bantamweight champion to end Sterling’s historically dominant run of the division. Suga then called out Marlon “Chito” Vera for his first title defense.

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DUDS

Neil Magny
Magny entered the fight two spots ahead of Garry at No. 11 in the welterweight rankings. The 36-year-old failed to check a constant run of leg kicks, as Garry ran away with a unanimous decision. Magny now has lost four of his last six fights.

Maryna Moroz
In the first fight of the night, Moroz went to the ground with under two minutes to go in the first round. Her opponent, Karine Silva, set up a guillotine choke but was fighting against the clock as the final seconds ticked down in the round. While she nearly was saved by the bell, Moroz tapped out with one second remaining for a first-round submission.

Aljamain Sterling
In his fourth title defense, Sterling met a striker different than any he faced during his dominant reign as the bantamweight champion.

After some control in the first round, Sterling went down on a hard right hand from the challenger, as O’Malley finished the fight early in the second round.

Sterling’s run of nine straight wins within the division ended just like that.