Sean O'Malley is making a public push for the UFC to book a rematch with bantamweight champion Petr Yan instead of moving forward with a trilogy between Yan and Merab Dvalishvili.
O'Malley is coming off back-to-back wins over Song Yadong and Aiemann Zahabi, including a knockout at UFC Freedom 250, and believes the timing is right for Yan vs. O'Malley 2. Meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili expects a third fight with Yan after they split their first two meetings and told MMA Junkie he plans to wait for the champion, saying the UFC informed him there are no other fights but the trilogy.
"I've been hearing Petr and Merab are going to fight for a long time – still nothing booked," O'Malley said, questioning the holdup. He later added, "You can't fight Merab on half-assed camps. You need a full, full camp. You need to be fully healthy to fight Merab, and Petr probably knows that. So he's taking his time, as he should. He is the champ. You don't want to go out there and lose the belt because you did something you shouldn't do, so I get it. But also, if they want me vs. Petr next, I do think me vs. Petr Yan 2, rematch, is the biggest fight in bantamweight history. I think it's the biggest one you could possibly make right now, and the UFC would be risking (it) making Merab vs. Petr."
Petr Yan ended Merab Dvalishvili's title reign at UFC 323 after Dvalishvili had two wins over O'Malley, adding extra stakes to whichever matchup the UFC ultimately chooses to book next at bantamweight.
