Sean O'Malley's got options at not one weight class but two.
Of course, it's a title defense next for the UFC Bantamweight Champion as O'Malley returns against #1 contender Merab Dvalishvili at Noche UFC on Sep. 14. But, what about after that? What awaits one of the more bigger superstars in the sport today with a win over the worthy Dvalishvili?
He’s lucky I pulled it pic.twitter.com/UOVDwaxd1R
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) June 3, 2024
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Should "Suga" reign supreme at the Sphere, there's a few fights that O'Malley sees himself having in the not-so-distant future, two of which we saw fight this last weekend at UFC Abu Dhabi.
"Figgy beat Chito [Vera] on the same card," O'Malley said of former champ Deiveson Figueiredo on his YouTube channel. "Figgy called me out. That could be next. I don't know. Max [Holloway] vs. Ilia's [Topuria] coming up. I would love an opportunity to go up to 45'. So Max, Ilia, [Umar] Nurmagomedov, Figgy... I got a lot of options."
UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria is scheduled to defend his title against BMF Champion Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308 on Oct. 26. O'Malley called out Topuria following his first title defense over Chito Vera at UFC 299 but to no avail.
O'Malley believes the second time will be the charm with a stoppage win over Dvalishvili in his next time out.
"Flatlining him, buddy," O'Malley said of Dvalishvili. "I feel like I'll be able to make a call out [to Topuria]. Obviously, last fight I beat Chito, called out Ilia, didn't get that fight. So just 'cause you win doesn't mean you're gonna be able to pick. But, I go out there flatline Merab, I feel like that call out will mean something and it depends what happens."
As for his own weight division at bantamweight, Umar Nurmagomedov's on the cusp of a title shot with UFC CEO Dana White telling Kevin Iole that the undefeated Russian would be next for O'Malley/Dvalishvili following an impressive decision win over Cory Sandhagen.
FWIW, Dana told me Umar will meet the Sean O'Malley Merab Dvalishvili winner for the bantamweight title
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) August 3, 2024
Who knows, though? "Maybe Umar and Figgy fight. We'll see," Sean O'Malley said regarding his future plans.
Former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo is 3-0 at bantamweight since changing divisions, collecting wins over Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt and most recently Marlon "Chito" Vera last Saturday at UFC Abu Dhabi.
UMAR NURMAGOMEDOV TO FACE SEAN O'MALLEY VS. MERAB DVALISHVILI WINNER, PER DANA WHITE
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