{"id":771699,"date":"2026-07-01T08:32:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T08:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/771699\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T08:32:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T08:32:48","slug":"sean-omalley-calls-petr-yan-rematch-biggest-bantamweight-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/771699\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean O\u2019Malley Calls Petr Yan Rematch Biggest Bantamweight Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cSuga\u201d is getting antsy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">It has been a little more than two weeks since former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion Sean O\u2019Malley knocked out Aiemann Zahabi in the second round at the historic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmamania.com\/ufc-white-house-2026-fight-card-start-time-full-results-dana-white-conor-mcgregor-cbs-mma\/449022\/ufc-freedom-250-live-results-highlights-play-by-play-topuria-vs-gaethje\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">UFC Freedom 250 event<\/a>, which went down on the White House South Lawn (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmamania.com\/ufc-white-house-2026-fight-card-start-time-full-results-dana-white-conor-mcgregor-cbs-mma\/450779\/highlights-electric-sean-omalley-calls-his-shot-scores-sexy-stoppage-over-aiemann-zahabi-at-ufc-white-house\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">watch highlights<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">With the win, O\u2019Malley put himself <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmamania.com\/ufc-323-fight-card-start-time-live-results-merab-vs-yan-2-mma\/408236\/sean-omalley-is-right-back-in-the-mix-after-petr-yans-ufc-323-title-win\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">right back into title contention<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">He is stuck in title-fight limbo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Current Bantamweight champion Petr Yan and former champion Merab Dvalishvili are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmamania.com\/ufc-odds\/408198\/petr-yan-opens-as-betting-underdog-for-merab-trilogy-despite-unplugging-the-machine-at-ufc-323\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">expected to complete their trilogy<\/a> at some point later this year, but nothing has been officially booked. And because of that, O\u2019Malley is boxed out for the time being.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Naturally, he is starting to get a little annoyed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cI\u2019ve been hearing Petr and Merab are going to fight for a long time \u2014 still nothing booked,\u201d O\u2019Malley told Kamaru Usman on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s Merab\u2019s nose or Petr\u2019s back. It sucks. One of those guys is obviously holding it up, and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s Merab. I think Merab would fight with his arm cut off. So I think Petr is probably just dealing with some injuries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cHe\u2019s the champ, and if he\u2019s going to come back against Merab \u2014 I fought Merab knowing I was getting surgery after with a torn labrum,\u201d O\u2019Malley continued. \u201cIt was still a close fight, and then I got the surgery and fought Merab again seven months later, just wanting to be back, just wanting the belt back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">O\u2019Malley also admitted that if Yan is dealing with injuries, it makes sense for him to take his time. Dvalishvili is not exactly the kind of opponent anyone should fight without being fully prepared.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cYou can\u2019t fight Merab on half-assed camps,\u201d O\u2019Malley said. \u201cYou need a full, full camp. You need to be fully healthy to fight Merab, and Petr probably knows that. So he\u2019s taking his time, as he should. He is the champ. You don\u2019t want to go out there and lose the belt because you did something you shouldn\u2019t do, so I get it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Still, UFC is in the business of making the biggest fights possible over meritocracy, and O\u2019Malley believes the promotion has an even bigger option sitting right in front of it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Just book O\u2019Malley vs. Yan 2 and leave Dvalishvili waiting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cBut also, if they want me vs. Petr next, I do think me vs. Petr Yan 2, rematch, is the biggest fight in Bantamweight history,\u201d O\u2019Malley said. \u201cI think it\u2019s the biggest one you could possibly make right now, and the UFC would be risking it by making Merab vs. Petr.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Of course, if O\u2019Malley does have to wait for Yan vs. Dvalishvili 3, he still has unfinished business with \u201cThe Machine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Even though <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmamania.com\/2025\/6\/8\/24445396\/sean-omalley-releases-statement-following-ufc-316-loss-well-be-back\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dvalishvili beat him twice<\/a>, O\u2019Malley remains confident he can eventually solve that puzzle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cPart of me, I do really \u2014 I know truly I can beat Merab,\u201d O\u2019Malley said. \u201cI know how the last two fights went. I know I can beat Merab, and I know if I go out there and beat Merab, then I\u2019m undefeated. I\u2019ll have beaten everyone I ever fought.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cThe only guy I\u2019ve ever lost to is Merab \u2014 the first fight was closer than people think, and the second fight he got me out of there,\u201d O\u2019Malley continued. \u201cI know I can beat him, and it would be huge for my career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">More than likely, O\u2019Malley will have to wait on the sidelines while Yan and Dvalishvili settle their trilogy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">For now, \u201cSuga\u201d is riding a two-fight win streak since losing back-to-back fights to Dvalishvili, and he has made his next target very clear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Yan rematch. Bantamweight history. Another shot at the belt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cSuga\u201d is getting antsy. It has been a little more than two weeks since former Ultimate Fighting Championship&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":771700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,40762,785,85,1396,179146,14855],"class_list":["post-771699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-latest-ufc-mma-news","tag-mma","tag-sports","tag-ufc-news","tag-ufc-on-paramount","tag-videos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=771699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/771700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=771699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=771699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=771699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}