UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is eager to defend his title in a rematch against Chito Vera and is slated to headline his own pay-per-view event, after UFC seemed to delay their planned face-off until 2024.
Sean O’Malley, the reigning UFC Bantamweight champion, is set to have his own pay-per-view event when he defends his title for the first time. The champion forward to this moment after his stunning second-round knockout of Aljamain Sterling this past August. Following that win, his focus swiftly shifted to a potential rematch with Chito Vera—the only fighter who has managed to beat him in his MMA career—in December. However, O’Malley soon discovered that the Vera clash, while still a possibility, might not happen until 2024.
During an episode of the “JRE MMA Show”, O’Malley expressed his eagerness to fight in December. He mentioned, “I really, really did truly want to fight in December. Like when I called out Chito in December, but I talked to UFC and they kind of already had [plans]. They were trying to get Colby [Covington] and Leon [Edwards] together.” In a bold move, the UFC asked him to main event his own show, to which he positively responded, “I asked them — they want me to main event my own show, which I think it’s f****** dope. I’m down with that.”
O’Malley made his first UFC main event appearance in his title fight against Sterling. At 28, the Bantamweight champion has quickly become a hit on the UFC roster. However, as ready as he is to headline another pay-per-view, he doesn’t expect it to be on a card shared with another UFC champ. The champ speculated that his next fight will happen before UFC 300, which is slated for April. Despite the UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, proposing January for his next fight, the UFC hasn’t made any announcements for the new year.
O’Malley is keen to defend his belt, with Vera still his most desired opponent. With anticipation, he said, “I’m really hoping [the UFC] f****** just say ‘let’s f****** do it.’ I’ve still got to go out there and prove it. I think once you become champ, it’s like are you champ? You’ve got to go defend the belt. You’ve got to defend the f****** belt, so I’m looking forward to that.” His eagerness to prove his worth and defend his title hints at the exciting bouts that fans can look forward to in the coming year.