Sean O’Malley hasn’t fully committed to his first UFC bantamweight title challenger.
After defeating Aljamain Sterling to capture the 135-pound gold at UFC 292, many assumed Marlon “Chito” Vera punched his ticket for a title opportunity. The matchup wouldn’t exactly be surprising, as Vera handed O’Malley his lone career loss back in 2020.
Top UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili recently said he’d be willing to wait over a year to challenge for O’Malley’s gold. O’Malley responded during an episode of the “TimboSugarShow.”
“He said that? That’s funny,” O’Malley said. “Alright, I guess you can wait a year then.”
Sean O’Malley celebrating his title win in the club last night with the Nelk Boys whilst his walkout song ‘Superstar’ plays. 🏆🎶#UFC292 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/FqZWChLA0M
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) August 27, 2023
Sean O’Malley Still Deciding On Next Fight, Blasts Ilia Topuria
While O’Malley doesn’t know who is next, he hasn’t been shy about discussing potential matchups down the line. He has named dropped boxing champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and featherweight contender Ilia Topuria. O’Malley believes Topuria made himself look foolish during their recent exchange on social media.
“I still haven’t picked who, so you know what I mean? I’ll pick when the time’s right,” O’Malley said. “Ilia Topuria, I feel like he’s a little confused on life. He said that he wouldn’t want to fight me if he beats Volkanovski because I’m too easy. That makes you look so f*cking stupid. He says I don’t have anything. I’m the champ and the biggest star in the UFC. For him to say that makes me think that he’s [stupid] or he just had someone tweet for him or he had something with the translation because it’s gotta be one of the dumbest things any UFC fighter ever said.”
O’Malley went on to say that if he was such an easy opponent, Topuria would be eager to fight him. “Sugar” said that judging by Topuria’s comments, he thinks the featherweight contender actually feels threatened by him. At the moment, Topuria appears to be the front runner for a shot at the UFC featherweight title. A bout between Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski hasn’t been made official at this time.
