Sean O’Malley labels former foe one of his ‘favorite fighters to watch’ in glowing assessment of rival

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has faced many top names, but one name stands above the rest for the superstar fighter.

Sean O’Malley is days away from his return to the Octagon as he faces surging bantamweight contender Song Yadong at UFC 324 in Las Vegas. O’Malley will look to snap the first losing skid of his career against Yadong in an elite striking matchup.

After Merab Dvalishvili’s loss to Petr Yan at UFC 323, the door is back open for O’Malley and other recent title challengers to make a run at the belt. O’Malley defeated Petr Yan by decision at UFC 280, in what was at the time the biggest win of his career.

While O’Malley’s main focus, as of this writing, is taking down Yadong, a rematch with Yan is a possibility with a victory at UFC 324. Ahead of a potential rematch, don’t expect there to be a lot of animosity from both sides, as O’Malley recently expressed admiration for the current bantamweight champ.

Sean O’Malley: Petr Yan is one of my favorite fighters to watch

In a recent episode of Death Row MMA, O’Malley lauded former rival Petr Yan’s skillset, which he’s admired for years.

“Petr’s always been one of my favorite fighters to watch. I remember him coming up and I was like, this m———- is so skilled, he’s a scary little dude,” O’Malley said.

“So he’s always been one of my favorites. Mean little f—–. Recently watched his last fight with Merab, a couple days ago, and it was such a beautiful performance. Him elbowing the forearm and Merab after the first round holding it, it was just such a beautiful performance and one of the sickest performances I’ve ever seen.”

Yan has earned recent wins over the likes of Marcus McGhee, Yadong, and Dvalishvili. As Yan begins his second lineal bantamweight title reign, O’Malley and others are waiting in the wings.