Sean O’Malley is ultra-confident he’s getting a title shot against Petr Yan next.
Following Yan’s masterful performance to beat Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333 this past weekend, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion barely got the belt wrapped around his waist before talks already started about his next defense. That night in Abu Dhabi, the UFC keyed in on Song Yadong, who was in the crowd fresh off his stunning knockout over Umar Nurmagomedov, and it almost felt like O’Malley was the forgotten man.
But O’Malley took no offense, and considering he just beat Song earlier this year on top of his knockout win over Aimann Zahabi at the UFC White House card combined with his past win over Yan, the former champion believes he’s fighting for gold next.
“Petr beat Song when I was defending my title in Miami, so Petr already beat Song, I already beat Song,” O’Malley told Daniel Cormier on his podcast. “I don’t really think it’s a debate or an argument.
“Song was in the building [at UFC 333]; they’re in your ear, it makes sense. I’m not there. Song’s there. I don’t really feel like I have to push for it or argue for it or try to do anything crazy for it. Me versus Petr is happening next. It just is. I refuse to believe otherwise.”
O’Malley defeated Yan back in 2022 in one of the most exciting fights of the year, so having that victory over the current champion definitely helps his argument.
On top of that, O’Malley argues that a rematch against Yan in a title fight could break all the records for a bantamweight fight in the UFC.
“Hands down it will be [the biggest bantamweight fight of all time],” O’Malley said. “I don’t think of Petr Yan as a superstar. He’s not going to walk down the street and get mobbed. In the MMA community, he’s one of the most respected fighters, and I think the promotion will really get to the wider audience. We’re not going to be the co-main event. We’re going to be the main event. It’s going to be a massive card.
“I think me versus Chito [Vera], number-wise, was the biggest bantamweight fight of all-time as of now, but I do think me versus Petr is going to be bigger.”
As of now, the UFC hasn’t made any decisions about Yan’s next fight, but clearly O’Malley expects his name to get called sooner rather than later.
