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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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17 hours ago

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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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MMA

Colby Covington explains why RAF 12 matchup with Belal Muhammad is off

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1 hour ago

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July 21, 2026

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Colby Covington explains why RAF 12 matchup with Belal Muhammad is off
The RAF 12 matchup between Colby
Covington and Belal
Muhammad is reportedly off just 24 hours after it was made.

Covington became the inaugural RAF crossover champion with a win
over Arman
Tsarukyan at RAF 11. Covington and Muhammad had a heated
exchange at the RAF 11 press conference, following which they were
booked for RAF 12 on Aug. 22, which has now seemingly fallen
through.

Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad's RAF 12 matchup ends after
tense confrontation

Covington now claims he has called off the booking against
Muhammad. The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter says Muhammad's
unprofessionalism fueled his decision to cancel the booking.

Muhammad threw a kick at Covington during the press conference
before security intervened to stop things from escalating further.
“Chaos” is confident that the former UFC champion has no chance
against him on the wrestling mats and will instead try to fight him
and pull off other illegal stunts.

“We're gonna move away from the Belal matchup,†Covington told
Submission Radio. “He showed that he can't be a professional… He
stands up and throws a soccer kick at me and runs across the stage
to try to attack me like a f*cking filthy animal, like a
delinquent, like a criminal. It's just disgusting. There's no
professionalism on his side. Of course, the company knows I beat
him in 60 seconds or less in a wrestling match. We know he's not
gonna be able to wrestle me. He's gonna try to fight me; he's gonna
be unprofessional. So, we're gonna move on.â€

Covington is now open to defending his title in a rematch against
Tsarukyan. He is also interested in exploring other options such as
Michael
Chandler, Tyron
Woodley, Khamzat
Chimaev or Kamaru
Usman.


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MMA

I was devastated: Magomed Ankalaev reflects on first UFC loss in years

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3 hours ago

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July 21, 2026

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'I was devastated': Magomed Ankalaev reflects on first UFC loss in years
Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Magomed
Ankalaev has opened up about dealing with his last defeat.

The Russian is coming off his light heavyweight title loss in a
rematch against Alex
Pereira at
UFC 320 last year, and while the result was difficult to
accept, he's now only looking ahead.

Ankalaev discusses recovering from the Alex Pereira defeat
before facing Bogdan Guskov

While Ankalaev had dominantly dethroned Pereira in their first
outing, “Poatan” avenged the loss by knocking out the Dagestani
205-pounder in just 80 seconds in their rematch. The loss was also
Ankalaev's first since 2018, when he was submitted in his Octagon
debut.

Ankalaev admits that it hasn't been easy recovering from his last
loss, which was frustrating. However, the former champ has cleared
his head ahead of his return at
UFC Abu Dhabi. With fresh motivation to return to the win
column, Ankalaev vows that things will be different in his upcoming
fight.

“It's been a long time; I have wanted to come back,†Ankalaev told
Red Corner MMA. “I had some issues, injuries. It's been hard to
return. Everyone knows that the last fight was a frustrating loss.
It's fair to say I was devastated. But I'm back. Fresh thoughts,
cool head, if you will. Now everything is going to be completely
different.â€

Ankalaev (20-2) was originally scheduled to face Khalil
Rountree on July 25 at UFC Abu Dhabi. However, Rountree pulled
out due to an injury and has been replaced by Bogdan
Guskov on two weeks' notice.

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MMA

Dricus Du Plessis had a message after big UFC comeback win

Published

6 hours ago

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July 20, 2026

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Dricus Du Plessis had a message after big UFC comeback win
Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Dricus Du
Plessis returned to winning ways at
UFC Oklahoma City.

Nearly a year after losing his middleweight belt to Khamzat
Chimaev, du Plessis returned to action in a five-rounder
against former welterweight champ Kamaru
Usman, earning a lopsided unanimous decision win. The South
African's return made him realize how much he loves and belongs in
the sport.

UFC champion Dricus Du Plessis explains his mindset after
beating Kamaru Usman

“Stillknocks” was clearly on top in the opening two rounds, with
Usman finding his range in the third frame before du Plessis
regained his momentum in the fourth. Usman found a second wind in
the final round, but it was too little too late for “The Nigerian
Nightmare,†who was on the wrong end of a 50-45, 49-46, 49-46
scorecard.

Having spent 11 months on the sidelines coming off a loss, du
Plessis believes that one can forget what it's like inside the
Octagon during a lengthy hiatus. However, as soon as the fight
commenced, he felt right at home.

“Especially when you are away for that kind of time, you almost
forget what it's like to be there, dancing under the lights,†du
Plessis said after the fight. “But man, tonight I just walked out
there again and I realized… This is what I live with… This is what
this is about… This is why I started this game. I loved going out
there and fighting, but more than that, I loved competing.â€

He further emphasized that the pressure he feels in front of
thousands of fans in attendance is exactly what gets the best out
of him.

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