Sean O’Malley is happy to wait on Petr Yan.
At UFC White House, O’Malley picked up his second win in a row, stopping Aiemann Zahabi in the second round. The victory put O’Malley firmly in the title mix at 135 pounds, especially given that he already has a win over current champion Petr Yan. The problem for O’Malley is that Yan has unfinished business with Merab Dvalishvili, and the two seem destined for a trilogy fight to settle their rivalry. And if that’s the case, O’Malley says he’s fine waiting.
“Petr’s the champ,“ O’Malley told MMA Fighting. “If I don’t get that next, I wait. If Petr beats Merab, me vs. Petr. How do you not make that fight?”
O’Malley beat Yan when the two fought back at UFC 280 in 2022, taking a controversial split decision. That win propelled “Suga” to a title fight with Aljamain Sterling, which he won, cementing himself as one of the top stars in MMA.
In his first title defense, O’Malley got his revenge on Marlon “Chito” Vera, which O’Malley says is currently the biggest fight in divisional history, but should Yan beat Dvalishvili and set up their rematch, the former bantamweight champion believes that fight would overtake it.
“Absolutely [it’s the biggest fight in bantamweight history],” O’Malley said. “I would love to hear someone’s argument. I think me vs. Chito is the biggest fight as of now. As far as numbers, gate, that was the biggest bantamweight fight in history. I think me vs. Petr would beat that.”
First things first, though, Yan and Dvalishvili need to settle up. The bantamweight champion has been out of action since December after undergoing back surgery following his title-winning performance, though the trilogy bout is expected to take place before the end of the year.
