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Sean O'Malley: '2026 is going to be lit'

Originally posted on MMA Weekly | By Jeff Cain | Last updated Jan 6, 2026 4:05 AM ET

Former bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley enters 2026 coming off back-to-back losses. "Suga" returns to take on No. 5 ranked Song Yadong on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas on the UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett main card and hopes to turn the ship around.

With heaps of pressure to perform at T-Mobile Arena in three weeks, O'Malley is confident and anticipates that 2026 'is going to be lit.' The 31 year-old already has the first half of the year mapped out.

"2026 is going to be lit. I'm going to go out there and take care of Song. Take care of Petr," O'Malley said his Youtube channel.

The third-ranked O'Malley believes a win over Yadong at UFC 324 will provide him the opportunity to rematch newly crowned champion Petr Yan at the White House in June.

Yan seems to be onboard with the plan, tagging O'Malley in a social media post with an AI generated photo of the two inside the octagon with the White House in the background.

"Petr knows. That's what's next. I'm going to go out there and take care of Song. That's what's next. It just makes sense," O'Malley said. "Go 2 and 0."

While O'Malley is angling for a rematch with Yan after a win over Yadong, he understands that his vision for the year may not align with the fight promotion's. He also acknowledged that he could lose.

"It's almost pointless to predict what I want to do in the next five years, two years, three years. Just take it one fight (at a time). I go out there and lose, I'm done with this sh*t," he said. "Ideally, I go out there and win."

"Ideally, I go take out Song and then get that Petr fight. And then we'll just go from there. See what life throws at me."

O'Malley and Yan first fought at UFC 280 in October 2022. O'Malley edged Yan out via slit decision in Abu Dhabi that night in a match that earned 'Fight of the Night' honors.

This article first appeared on MMA Weekly and was syndicated with permission.

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