Sean O’Malley is ready and willing to scrap with Song Yadong.
Earlier this year, the former bantamweight champion attempted to reclaim the title from the main who took it from him when he challenged Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316. Unfortunately for O’Malley, things went worse for him this time around, as Dvalishvili submitted him in the third round, putting a definitive end to their rivalry.
O’Malley is now far outside of the bantamweight title picture, and while a few names have been popping up as possible
opponents for him, one seems to have grabbed the attention of “Suga”: Song Yadong.
“Everyone and their grandmother is sending me screenshots of ‘Song Yadong vs. Suga, Dec. 6,’” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “People are saying, ‘Congrats, when does fight camp start?’ All this and that, and I’m assuming it started because … when the fights were in China, Song took a picture with Merab and said he’s fighting me next, or whatever.
“To be honest, I don’t know what the plan is. There’s nothing official on my side. I haven’t talked to the UFC specifically on who, when, and where. Song seems like a great next opponent though. It makes sense. I like the matchup. That seems good.”
Currently ranked No. 5 in the UFC bantamweight rankings, Song is coming off strange win over Henry Cejudo at UFC Seattle, where Song won a technical decision after a Cejudo was unable to continue following an eye poke. Before that, Song lost a decision to Petr Yan in 2024, meaning both men are out of the current title picture, so a matchup between the two could make sense. And O’Malley welcomes it anytime.
“As far as the date goes, December, January, February, f*cking November, I’m ready to go,” O’Malley said. “I’m ready to go. Call me next week and I’ll probably say that’s too short notice, but I do like the matchup. Makes sense. I’m healthy, I’m feeling good, I’m training like a motherf*cker. I like that matchup a lot, so me vs. Song, if that’s what’s next, hell yeah.”
