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Sean O'Malley gives honest take on Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira
USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

As Sean O'Malley gears up for his bantamweight title showdown with Merab Dvalishvili this weekend, he looks ahead to one of the most anticipated fights of the year.

'Suga' looks prepared for his immediate rematch with Dvalishvili at UFC 316. 'The Machine' admitted he delayed their fight to give O'Malley the best recovery, since the American striker revealed he was injured during their first contest.

While fans eagerly await their fight on June 7, the world is looking forward to the lightweight title match between challengers Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira later in the month.

UFC announces return to Paris with huge implications

Craig Kidwell-Imagn Images

Sean O'Malley predicts Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira at UFC 317

Speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri, O'Malley regards Topuria-Oliveira as a coin flip fight...

"That's one where your heart's telling you Charles and your brain's telling you Ilia," O'Malley explained. "That one's a coin flip. You can't count Charles out. Ilia's on an absolute tear.

"Charles does get hit... Ilia cracks! That fight, I am very excited for."

Topuria and Oliveira top the UFC 317 bill on June 27, with a co-main event featuring flyweight kingpin Alexandre Pantoja defending his title against Kai Kara-France.

UFC 317 full announced card

UFC 317 has room for one or two more fights, with just 11 announced so far.

  • Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira; vacant light title
  • (c) Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France; fly title
  • Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov; middle
  • Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano; light
  • Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber; light
  • Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape; fly
  • Jhonata Diniz vs. Justin Tafa; heavy
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez; fly
  • Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues; middle
  • Terrance McKinney vs. Viacheslav Borshchev; light
  • Hyder Amil vs. Jose Delgado; feather

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

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