Sean O’Malley has confirmed he will face Aiemann Zahabi at UFC White House on June 14 after an expected matchup with Petr Yan failed to materialize.
O’Malley, who is coming off a win over Song Yadong in January that snapped a two-fight skid against Merab Dvalishvilli, revealed he was initially lined up for a rematch with the former bantamweight champion.
“I was supposed to fight Petr Yan, the champ, the little Russian, but I beat him last time so he didn’t want to fight this time,” O’Malley said, referencing their close fight at UFC 280.
Instead, he now turns his attention to Zahabi, who O’Malley highlighted as being on a strong run. “That would have been a big fight. I’m fighting a guy named Aiemann Zahabi, he’s on a seven-fight win streak, he’s from Canada, a Canadian fella, so it’s kind of America vs. Canada-ish if you’re looking at it that way, which is kind of exciting.”
O’Malley expects a high-paced striking battle on June 14. “Very tough, very durable, very experienced. Very tough fight. An exciting challenge, he’s going to be more of a kickboxer style so it’s going to be a very exciting, electric kickboxing fight with little gloves on.”
Looking ahead, O’Malley is clear about what a big performance could mean. “I don’t know. The UFC does what they do and all I can do is go out there and fight and put on performances, so if I go out there and get a beautiful performance, I don’t see how I’m not next for the title.”
