Sean O’Malley plans to attend UFC 311 to scout his potential next opponent. The former bantamweight champion has his eyes locked on the co-main event, where Merab Dvalishvili will defend his title against Umar Nurmagomedov in what’s shaping up to be a clash of titans.
O’Malley has a history with both fighters, especially Merab. After all, he’s the guy who rag-dolled O’Malley for 5 rounds and took his title.
Also, earlier this year, O’Malley had accused Dvalishvili of “ducking” Umar, claiming he was avoiding the Dagestani’s relentless grappling style. And now that the two are finally dancing the lambada, O’Malley wants to take on whoever wins for his title rematch.
Currently, on the mend from a hip surgery, O’Malley hosted a QnA session on Snapchat where a fan asked him whether he would be in LA to watch the UFC 311 event. O’Malley responded by saying,
“Of course. Need to see who I fight next.”
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But it is rather bold of him to assume that he gets a title rematch when he returns. His reign as the champion was rather lackluster and he had lost the title fight to Merab way too easily.
Besides, with his hip still healing, ‘Suga‘ will be out for a few months, something that has turned him into the butt of a joke for Petr Yan.
Yan ridicules O’Malley
Yan hasn’t let go of his controversial loss to Sean O’Malley and is making it clear he wants another shot. The two first faced off in October 2022 at UFC 280 in a razor-thin contest that had fans, fighters, and analysts debating the outcome for weeks.
While O’Malley walked away with a split-decision victory, many—including Yan himself—felt the decision could have gone the other way.
So he has been angling for that rematch for a while now but O’Malley’s long layoff has made him very annoyed.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Yan ridiculed ‘Suga’ saying,
“I don’t know what’s going on with him he’s out for 9 to 12 months so maybe he got pregnant.”
️ Petr Yan: “I don’t know what’s going on with [Sean O’Malley]. He’s out for 9-12 months, maybe he got pregnant.”
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 3, 2024
A rematch between Yan and O’Malley is a no-brainer. The controversy surrounding the decision win for O’Malley only makes the prospect of a second showdown more enticing. With ‘Suga’ expected to be back in 2025, the stage could be set for these two to settle the score once and for all.