Main: The White House in Washington D.C. Left Inset: Sean O'Malley prepares to face Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306. Right Inset: Mystery fighter. Credit: Robert Alexander & Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Sean O’Malley includes his long-awaited fight against top bantamweight on ideal UFC White House card

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Harvey Leonard | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 9:19 AM ET

Sean O’Malley is the latest to throw his name in the hat for Donald Trump’s planned UFC event at the White House.

The United States president caused a stir in the MMA space after announcing his intention to have Dana White and the UFC stage fights on the White House lawn as part of next year’s July 4 celebrations.

That news was met with fighter after fighter raising their hands to be part of the major show, including two prominent names many had written off ever competing again in Jon Jones and Conor McGregor.

Most fantasy UFC White House cards thus far feature both ‘The Notorious’ and ‘Bones’, and O’Malley has put one of his potential future fights alongside them.

Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Sean O’Malley wants to fight Cory Sandhagen on UFC White House card featuring Conor McGregor

When it comes to the UFC’s first-ever simultaneous two-division champion returning for the occasion, talk has largely centered around a rearranged fight between McGregor and Michael Chandler.

O’Malley, though, went with a different pairing during his recent appearance on Mike Perry’s Overdogs Podcast. Instead of ‘Iron’, he pitched McGregor against current lightweight king Ilia Topuria, who knocked out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 to replicate the Irishman’s feat of winning gold at both 145 and 155 pounds.

“If we get to pick whatever, Conor for sure,” O’Malley said. “Conor vs. Ilia would probably be the top one.”

For the rest of the lineup, ‘Suga’ pitched bouts involving Israel Adesanya and Max Holloway, in addition to some options for his own outing — chief among them being a long-awaited showdown with fellow entertaining striker Cory Sandhagen.

“Izzy vs. (Sean) Strickland 2, I would like to see that…Jones vs. (Tom) Aspinall is the one everyone wants to see.

“I think me vs. Cory,” O’Malley continued. “Me vs. Petr (Yan) 2 would be a banger. Me vs. Cory. Me vs. Merab (Dvalishvili) 3? No, I’m just kidding.

“Max Holloway vs. anybody. That dude, he is so fun to watch.”

Dana White ruled out one man on Sean O’Malley’s White House card

Like O’Malley, many have pointed to Jones vs. Aspinall as a perfect USA vs. UK headliner at the White House. Daniel Cormier said he would even support Jones for such an occasion.

But not everybody is as keen to see the Rochester native’s name atop the potential lineup, and that includes the UFC president.

Dana White dealt a blow to Jones’ hopes by admitting that the former light heavyweight and heavyweight champ is not trustworthy enough for such a marquee assignment.

“It’s not even about him winning the belt,” White said during his press conference at UFC 318.

“You know how I felt about him. You know I can’t risk putting him in big positions in a big spot and have something go wrong – especially the White House card,” he added.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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