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Petr Yan (R) competes against Sean O'Malley in their bantamweight bout at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 22, 2022. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
“Suga” is getting antsy.
It has been a little more than two weeks since former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley knocked out Aiemann Zahabi in the second round at the historic UFC Freedom 250 event, which went down on the White House South Lawn (watch highlights).
With the win, O’Malley put himself right back into title contention.
The problem?
He is stuck in title-fight limbo.
Current Bantamweight champion Petr Yan and former champion Merab Dvalishvili are expected to complete their trilogy at some point later this year, but nothing has been officially booked. And because of that, O’Malley is boxed out for the time being.
Naturally, he is starting to get a little annoyed.
“I’ve been hearing Petr and Merab are going to fight for a long time — still nothing booked,” O’Malley told Kamaru Usman on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. “I don’t know if it’s Merab’s nose or Petr’s back. It sucks. One of those guys is obviously holding it up, and I don’t think it’s Merab. I think Merab would fight with his arm cut off. So I think Petr is probably just dealing with some injuries.
“He’s the champ, and if he’s going to come back against Merab — I fought Merab knowing I was getting surgery after with a torn labrum,” O’Malley continued. “It 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.”
O’Malley 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.
“You can’t fight Merab on half-assed camps,” O’Malley said. “You need a full, full camp. You need to be fully healthy to fight Merab, and Petr probably knows that. So he’s taking his time, as he should. He is the champ. You don’t want to go out there and lose the belt because you did something you shouldn’t do, so I get it.”
Still, UFC is in the business of making the biggest fights possible over meritocracy, and O’Malley believes the promotion has an even bigger option sitting right in front of it.
Just book O’Malley vs. Yan 2 and leave Dvalishvili waiting.
“But also, if they want me vs. Petr next, I do think me vs. Petr Yan 2, rematch, is the biggest fight in Bantamweight history,” O’Malley said. “I think it’s the biggest one you could possibly make right now, and the UFC would be risking it by making Merab vs. Petr.”
Of course, if O’Malley does have to wait for Yan vs. Dvalishvili 3, he still has unfinished business with “The Machine.”
Even though Dvalishvili beat him twice, O’Malley remains confident he can eventually solve that puzzle.
“Part of me, I do really — I know truly I can beat Merab,” O’Malley said. “I 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’m undefeated. I’ll have beaten everyone I ever fought.
“The only guy I’ve ever lost to is Merab — the first fight was closer than people think, and the second fight he got me out of there,” O’Malley continued. “I know I can beat him, and it would be huge for my career.”
More than likely, O’Malley will have to wait on the sidelines while Yan and Dvalishvili settle their trilogy.
For now, “Suga” is riding a two-fight win streak since losing back-to-back fights to Dvalishvili, and he has made his next target very clear.
Yan rematch. Bantamweight history. Another shot at the belt.
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