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Sean O’Malley willing to wait for title shot, calls rematch with Petr Yan the biggest bantamweight fight in history

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Sean O’Malley willing to wait for title shot, calls rematch with Petr Yan the biggest bantamweight fight in history

Sean O'Malley is happy to wait on Petr Yan.

At UFC White House, O'Malley picked up his second win in a row, stopping Aiemann Zahabi in the second round. The victory put O'Malley firmly in the title mix at 135 pounds, especially given that he already has a win over current champion Petr Yan. The problem for O'Malley is that Yan has unfinished business with Merab Dvalishvili, and the two seem destined for a trilogy fight to settle their rivalry. And if that's the case, O'Malley says he's fine waiting.

“Petr's the champ,“ O'Malley told MMA Fighting. “If I don't get that next, I wait. If Petr beats Merab, me vs. Petr. How do you not make that fight?â€

O'Malley beat Yan when the two fought back at UFC 280 in 2022, taking a controversial split decision. That win propelled “Suga†to a title fight with Aljamain Sterling, which he won, cementing himself as one of the top stars in MMA.

In his first title defense, O'Malley got his revenge on Marlon “Chito†Vera, which O'Malley says is currently the biggest fight in divisional history, but should Yan beat Dvalishvili and set up their rematch, the former bantamweight champion believes that fight would overtake it.

“Absolutely [it's the biggest fight in bantamweight history],†O'Malley said. “I would love to hear someone's argument. I think me vs. Chito is the biggest fight as of now. As far as numbers, gate, that was the biggest bantamweight fight in history. I think me vs. Petr would beat that.â€

First things first, though, Yan and Dvalishvili need to settle up. The bantamweight champion has been out of action since December after undergoing back surgery following his title-winning performance, though the trilogy bout is expected to take place before the end of the year.

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Anything but Fighting: Edmen Shahbazyan answers random questions

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Anything but Fighting: Edmen Shahbazyan answers random questions

LOS ANGELES — UFC middleweight contender Edmen Shahbazyan joins MMA Fighting's Jose Youngs on #AnythingButFighting to talk about his favorite movies, music, foods, concerts, and more.

Shahbazyan (16-6) is looking to get back into the win column against Brunno Ferreira on the preliminary card of UFC 331. “The Golden Boy†previously dropped a unanimous decision win to Brendan Allen, snapping his three-fight win streak in the process. To date, Shahbazyan holds notable wins over Andre Petroski, André Muniz, Jack Hermansson, Brad Tavares, and Jack Marshman.

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Dana White says Ciryl Gane won’t be promoted to undisputed champion: ‘He’s still got to fight’

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Dana White says Ciryl Gane won’t be promoted to undisputed champion: ‘He’s still got to fight’

Ciryl Gane is NOT the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion.

On Monday, Tom Aspinall vacated his UFC heavyweight title after reinjuring his eyes in training, forcing him out of action indefinitely. As such, many expected that interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane — the man who caused Aspinall's original eye injuries when he poked him during their heavyweight title fight at UFC 321 — would be elevated to undisputed champion and then defend his belt; but not so fast.

“Does it make him the undisputed champion?†White asked when questioned about Gane. “No. He's still got to fight.â€

White added that he expects Gane's next fight, the bout for the title of undisputed champion, will be announced “very soon.â€

Ostensibly, Aspinall could face the winner of whatever that potential bout is, should he be ready to return to action by then. But White has no timeline on when that might be.

“I don't [know],†White said when asked how long Aspinall's will be out for. “Obviously, whenever he feels healthy again, whenever his eyes are healed, then we're ready for him.â€

Gane won the interim heavyweight title with a TKO win over Alex Pereira at UFC White House this summer. It was expected that Gane and Aspinall would unify their titles in a rematch this year, before Aspinall's setback ended those plans.

As for the rest of the heavyweight division, Aspinall's latest update seems to have left the UFC scrambling, with White not having a clear path forward, but saying the UFC will figure it out.

“We'll see how this whole thing plays out with Aspinall,†White said. “Ciryl will fight, and we'll see who becomes the champion. This isn't like this is the first time this has ever happened, and it's happening right now with Valentina Shevchenko, too. This is nothing new. This happens sometimes, and it's unfortunate. Not the best outcome, but it is what it is.â€

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UFC 331 start time, fight card for Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja 2

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UFC 331 start time, fight card for Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja 2

There is a massive UFC title rematch to headline UFC 331 on Saturday night.

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van makes his second title defense in another showdown with former UFC champion Alexandre Pantoja. In their first encounter, Pantoja injured his elbow in the opening round at UFC 323, leading to a knockout loss to Van and losing his UFC title.

Van and Pantoja are expected to make their walk to the UFC 331 cage around 11:30 p.m ET.

Arman Tsarukyan also has a massive fight at UFC 331 when he faces talented lightweight Mauricio Ruffy in a five-round affair with a possible UFC title shot on the line. Tsarukyan last fought in the UFC at UFC Qatar this past November when he submitted Dan Hooker in the second round via arm-triangle choke.

Check out the UFC 331 fight card below.

UFC 331 Main Card (Paramount+ at 9 p.m. ET)

Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja 2

Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy

Patricio Pitbull vs. Doo Ho Choi

Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf

Alonzo Menifield vs. Iwo Baraniewski

UFC 331 Prelims (Paramount+ at 7 p.m. ET)

Marlon Vera vs. Charles Jourdain

Tai Tuivasa vs. Robelis Despaigne

Michael Aswell vs. Joo Sang Yoo

Ryan Gandra vs. Ozzy Diaz

UFC 331 Early Prelims (Paramount+ at 5:30 p.m. ET)

Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Brunno Ferreira

Casey O'Neill vs. Eduarda Moura

Giga Chikadze vs. Joanderson Brito

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