Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley was locked in on Petr Yan’s trilogy win against Merab Dvalishvili this past Saturday in the UFC 333 co-main event.
Having lost the bantamweight title in Sept. 2024 to Dvalishvili, O’Malley has since regained his confidence as he pushes toward another shot at supremacy at 135 pounds. Only this time, however, it would be a rematch against Yan, a fight where only four years ago, both men were contenders rather than ex-champions (or current, as is the case with Yan).
Upon earning the decision win, a flabbergasted O’Malley watched as Yan proceeded to not call him out for a rematch. It left O’Malley wanting answers, as he posted his live reaction video to YouTube.
“I’m surprised Petr didn’t call me out,” O’Malley said. “I don’t know why. It’s the biggest fight to make. In his eyes, like, s**** I called Chito [Vera] out after when I won the bell. I’m like, give me the easiest f***ing fight ever. Not ever. But … I’ll take it. You know, I’ll take whoever, but if I could pick, I wanna fight Chito.”
O’Malley was not happy with Yan, as Yan appears interested in fighting Song Yadong instead.
Sean O'Malley Reacts to Song Yadong's UFC Appearance
“Song Yadong was flown out to Abu Dhabi; they’re maybe assuming Merab was gonna win,” O’Malley said. “I had s*** I gotta do. I’m in Florida, I’m at a PrizePicks event, I couldn’t make it … But yeah, Song was out there. I’m assuming he was out there in case Merab won. DC kind of laid it up.”
Simply put, O’Malley said the best business decision the UFC could make is a fight that involves him as one-half of it.
“I beat him like six months ago,” O’Malley said. “I’m fighting Petr Yan next, I don’t care. It’s gonna be the greatest, biggest bantamweight fight in UFC history.”
UFC CEO Dana White is unsure which direction he and the matchmakers will take, delivering a bit of a behind-the-curtain view between the sides during the post-fight presser.
Dana White Undecided on Sean O'Malley's Next Fight
“Me and the matchmakers were texting the entire night about Song Yadong and O’Malley,” White said. “Both are obviously great options and it’s a good problem to have to figure out which one of those two could be next.”
We’ll see what the UFC decides to do next. But it seems there’s a big title fight on the horizon, regardless of when it happens.
We’ll have an answer soon.
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