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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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Mike Perry dislocates shoulder, Brandon Jenkins delivers upset victory at Brand Duel

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Mike Perry dislocates shoulder, Brandon Jenkins delivers upset victory at Brand Duel

Mike Perry's fight week went from bad to worse after he suffered a dislocated shoulder and a first-round TKO loss to late notice replacement Brandon Jenkins at Brand Duel in Orlando on Saturday night.

Following Dillon Danis' withdrawal just two days before the event was scheduled to take place, Perry accepted the short-notice fight against Jenkins. But early in the opening round, Perry's shoulder popped out of place and while the fight was allowed to continue, it didn't take long for Jenkins to deliver the finishing blow with a nasty body kick followed by some ground and pound to end it.

“What is it 15 hours' notice?†Jenkins said after the win. “It was a no-brainer, I was coming out here. They called me, I said yes. I asked for Nate Diaz but I got Mike Perry. Hopefully I can get a good fight with Nate Diaz next.â€

Perry was on the attack from the jump with Jenkins backing him off with a slick spinning back elbow. Jus as Jenkins was gaining some momentum, Perry unloaded a combination of punches followed by a hard left hand that landed clean.

During an exchange, Perry winced after it appeared his shoulder popped out of place and Jenkins attacked with a body kick that sent the “King of Violence†down to the canvas. Replays showed that Perry's injury really was a freak occurrence as he held onto Jenkins with his left hand while through right uppercuts but it was his left shoulder that popped out of place.

Rather than stop the fight due to Perry's injury, the referee allowed the action to continue and Jenkins stayed on the attack. He unleashed another vicious body kicks that sent Perry crashing to the canvas.

Jenkins followed him to the ground where he continued hammering away with punches until the referee saw enough and stopped the fight at 2:38 in the first round.

Perry was down on the canvas for several moments as medical personnel tended to him and attempted to put the shoulder back in place as he was writhing in pain.

It's an unfortunate ending for Perry after he signed up to fight Danis but ultimately suffered a serious injury and fell to a new opponent on just 48 hours' notice. It's unclear at this time how long Perry might be out of action with the shoulder injury but his night ends on a loss while Jenkins gets the biggest win of his career.

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Joe Lauzon wins bare-knuckle debut after scoring 5 brutal knockdowns

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Joe Lauzon wins bare-knuckle debut after scoring 5 brutal knockdowns

Joe Lauzon made the most of his bare-knuckle debut while fighting at home in Fenway Park in Boston.

The longtime UFC veteran decided to end his hiatus from combat sports and return for a fight in BKFC after the promotion announced plans to hold an event in the historic baseball stadium. The 42-year-old veteran didn't look like he skipped a beat as he came out guns blazing against Stash Kuykendall on Saturday night.

Right away, Lauzon pushed Kuykendall back towards the ropes and he immediately started digging to the body with hard shot before unloading a right hand that ended in a knockdown. With Kuykendall obviously still hurt, Lauzon just kept coming forward and blasting away with huge punches including another right hand that scored a second knockdown.

Lauzon earned one more knockdown but ran out of time in the first round to potentially end the fight.

On the restart, Lauzon wasted no time putting Kuykendall down again and it was clear the writing was on the wall that this fight wasn't going to last much longer.

In the next exchange, Lauzon uncorked a hellacious left hand that twisted Kuykendall's head around and he went face first down to the canvas. To his credit, Kuykendall did manage to get back to his feet but he was so badly damaged the referee Dan Miragliotta had no choice but to stop the fight with the end coming at 49 seconds into the second round.

Afterwards, Lauzon seemed to make it clear this was a one-and-done for him in bare-knuckle fighting unless BKFC decides to make a return trip to Boston in the future.

“We always fight like it's a car crash,†Lauzon said after the win. “I felt like I hit him pretty good. I've got a swollen eye but that's the way it goes. If you come back to Fenway, we'll talk about it.â€

Lauzon has always been a fan-favorite and he definitely had the home crowd on his side on Saturday for his bare-knuckle debut. It seems unlikely that he'll be back again but Lauzon lived out a dream fighting at Fenway Park and he leaves with a 1-0 record in BKFC.

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LIVE! Spaten Fight Night 3 Results: Shogun vs. Teixeira

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LIVE! Spaten Fight Night 3 Results: Shogun vs. Teixeira

MMA Fighting has Spaten Fight Night 3 results for the Shogun vs. Teixeira fight card and more from Estádio do Pacaembu in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Saturday night.

In the main event, former UFC champions Shogun Rua and Glover Teixeira square off in a boxing contest. Both Rua and Teixeira ended their decorated MMA careers at UFC 283 on Jan. 21, 2023. Rua ended his career with a 27-14-1 record, and Teixeira, the current coach of former UFC champion Alex Pereira, closed at 33-9.

Luan Medeiros and Juan Cruz face off in the co-main event in a boxing match as well.

Olympic gold medalist Bia Souza competes against Raz Hershko in a judo contest on the main card.

Check out Spaten Fight Night 3 results below.

Mauricio Rua vs. Glover Teixeira — boxing

Luan Medeiros vs. Juan Cruz — boxing

Raz Hershko def. Bia Souza via golden score — judo

Rafaela Silva def. Prisca Awiti on points — judo

Felipe Preguiça def. Nicholas Meregali via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)— jiu-jitsu

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