Bryce Mitchell doesn’t see Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley getting booked anytime soon.

O’Malley is coming off the biggest win of his pro MMA career. He defeated Petr Yan via split decision on the main card of UFC 280. The win catapulted O’Malley’s spot on the official UFC bantamweight rankings to number one.

While O’Malley may have put himself in prime position for a UFC Bantamweight Championship bout against titleholder Sterling, Mitchell doesn’t see it happening in the immediate future. During an interview with Sportskeeda, Mitchell expressed his belief that O’Malley is being protected by the UFC (h/t MMAJunkie).

“The reason they’re not having the Sterling-O’Malley fight is because they want Aljamain to do anything but fight O’Malley right now,” Mitchell said. “They’re trying to protect the guy that’s worth the money, and O’Malley will get destroyed if he fought Sterling. I think he knows that, too, and that’s why he’s not over here saying that he wants a title shot. Aljo would kill him. I’ve trained with Aljo for 10 years now.”

Sterling was also featured on the UFC 280 card. He successfully defended his 135-pound gold against TJ Dillashaw. The bout was marred in controversy, however, as Dillashaw entered the fight with a shoulder injury and was clearly unfit to compete. Sterling won the title fight via second-round TKO.

Bryce Mitchell competes in the featherweight division, but he has shared that he believes he will eventually share the Octagon with Sean O’Malley. He feels the “Sugar” show will eventually outgrow the weight class in size and be forced to move up.