Sean O’Malley says he is prepared to wait on the sidelines for a trilogy title fight with Petr Yan, targeting the winner of Yan’s expected third bout with Merab Dvalishvili.
O’Malley is coming off a second-round stoppage of Aiemann Zahabi at an event referred to as UFC White House, his second consecutive win. He already owns a split-decision victory over current champion Yan from their UFC 280 clash in 2022, a result that led to O’Malley’s title shot against Aljamain Sterling, which he won before defending the belt against Marlon Vera.
“Petr’s the champ,” O’Malley said, making clear where his focus lies. “If I don’t get that next, I wait. If Petr beats Merab, me vs. Petr. How do you not make that fight?”
O’Malley has repeatedly highlighted the scale of his first meeting with Vera and believes a Yan trilogy would be even bigger. “Absolutely [it’s the biggest fight in bantamweight history],” he 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.”
A trilogy bout between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili is expected to take place before the end of the year, with their rivalry continuing to drive the top of the UFC bantamweight division. The bantamweight champion has been out of action since December after undergoing back surgery following a title-winning performance.
