Aiemann Zahabi is eyeing a major breakthrough when he meets former champion Sean O'Malley at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, taking place on the South Lawn of the White House.
Zahabi, 14-2 in MMA and 8-2 in the UFC, enters the bout on a seven-fight unbeaten streak that includes recent wins over Marlon Vera and Jose Aldo. O'Malley brings a 19-3 professional record and an 11-3 UFC mark into the matchup.
Zahabi views the high-profile pairing as a chance to raise his profile in a big way. "After this, nobody can tell me, 'Who is this guy? Who is this guy?' Every time I tweet something or post something on Instagram, the fans always end up coming to tell me, so that's nice. Also, another perk of fighting a guy like Sean O'Malley, it puts you more on the map. The first time I felt that was when I fought Jose Aldo in Montreal. He's got like nine million followers on Instagram, and it really brought a lot of attention to the fight, and with Marlon (Vera), same thing. It's nice to be put against these big names, and it gives me more of a chance to get in front of the mainstream fans more often."
He also believes the manner of his performances has helped secure this opportunity. "It's not just about winning the fight, it's about winning the fight in impressive ways. One of the reasons why Hunter called me to fight Sean O'Malley because I didn't shoot on Pedro Munhoz, I struck with him for 15 minutes. I struck with Aldo for 15 minutes, and I struck with Marlon for 15 minutes. I beat these big names in the right way, in the way the UFC likes to see happen. I feel like if I do that again with Sean O'Malley, I can get the title fight. But if I go out there and make it a boring fight, they're just going to skip right over me."
