Sean O'Malley sees Song Yadong as a tough matchup for Merab Dvalishvili.
Dvalishvili (21-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) was outlasted by bantamweight champion Petr Yan (21-5 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in this past Saturday's UFC 333 co-main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Song (24-9-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC), who's coming off a knockout of Umar Nurmagomedov, was in attendance for the fight.
O'Malley (20-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) is also campaigning for the next title shot. If he does get his wish, he expects Dvalishvili and Song to potentially fight next.
"Merab was getting in on those takedowns (vs. Yan) for the first 10 minutes," O'Malley said in an interview with Bradley Martyn. "Not getting takedowns, but he was getting into his waist, dragging him to the mat, Petr was having to scramble.
But then, as the fight went on, Petr's guard is so – he's so short, he's so little, his guard is down here.
"So, when he (Dvalishvili) shoots, it's easy to defend for him. It was so sick to watch. Merab's a motherf*cker, but Song Yadong could beat Merab, too. Song is the same size as those little f*ckers, and he's explosive as f*ck. He's hard to take down, he hits hard. If Song and Merab fight next, Song could definitely win."
O'Malley beat Yan in a close fight at UFC 280. He has high praise for Yan's skills, but is confident he's the guy to dethrone him.
"I'm excited to rewatch that fight," O'Malley added. "I rewatched their second fight a few times. I'm excited to rewatch this fight, but Petr is so good. He's probably up there pound-for-pound No. 1."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean O'Malley: Song Yadong could 'definitely' beat Merab Dvalishvili
