UFC fighter Sean O’Malley has expressed his willingness to fight whoever the UFC chooses for him next, despite his interest in fighting reigning featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, who suggested O’Malley should first face Merab Dvalishvili.
Sean O’Malley is ready to take on any challenger the UFC throws his way. However, he’s certain that the decision won’t be made by reigning featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.
After his decisive victory over Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC 299, O’Malley was quick to express his interest in fighting Topuria. He even asked the UFC to arrange a flight to Spain for a champ vs. champ showdown later this year.
Topuria, on the other hand, had a different idea. He congratulated O’Malley on his win but suggested he first take on Merab Dvalishvili.
“Congrats, Suga. Beautiful performance! But, there’s a fight chasing you with Merab. Get that done first,” Topuria tweeted on March 10, 2024.
O’Malley’s response? He’s not taking orders from Topuria. “Ilia, this guy’s acting like he’s running the show. ‘No, you sit down and wait.’ The UFC’s going to decide, buddy. This guy’s acting like he gets the call. He wants me to fight Merab. I have more title defenses, so he’s talking out of his mouth a bit too much,” O’Malley said on The MMA Hour.
“But at the end of the day, it’s going to be what uncle Dana [White], uncle Hunter [Campbell] want. I’m open for whatever,” he added.
O’Malley didn’t show much interest in moving up to 145 pounds when Alexander Volkanovski held the featherweight title. He liked the former champion. But Topuria? That’s a different story. O’Malley respects him as a fighter and knows a fight between them would be big business.
“Ilia’s that guy. He’s done a really good job. He’s a star. Not a superstar, but he’s close. And it takes two names to make massive fights,” O’Malley said.
UFC CEO Dana White didn’t make any matchmaking decisions after UFC 299. However, he seemed to dismiss the idea of O’Malley moving to a new division after only his first title defense.
If that’s the case, Merab Dvalishvili seems like the most likely candidate for O’Malley’s next opponent. O’Malley welcomes the challenge and believes a fight with Dvalishvili could draw fan interest, even if it’s not as lucrative as a title in another weight class.
“I think a Merab fight would be pretty big. He’s on a 10 fight win streak. He was known for being boring, but now he’s popular for it. It’s a weird way to get popular, but he did it. I think that fight can be marketed well,” O’Malley said.
After his win at UFC 299, O’Malley ran into Dvalishvili backstage. Dvalishvili congratulated him and declared himself next in line for the title. O’Malley brushed off the encounter, saying he didn’t even realize it was Dvalishvili talking to him. But he did recognize him. “I just thought that s*** would be funny,” O’Malley said.
As for the timing of his next fight, O’Malley didn’t suffer any serious injuries in his five-round battle with Vera. He had his foot and hand wrapped up after UFC 299, but that was just a precaution.
“I feel way better today than I did five seconds after the fight. My forearms, hands are feeling good. I don’t think there’s any serious injuries. I think I’ll be back to running around here in a couple of days,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley has a location and date in mind for his next fight, and that’s more important to him than who he fights. “Headlining The Sphere in Vegas [at UFC 306 in September], let’s do it. I think that would be legendary,” O’Malley said.
“I know Conor [McGregor’s] talked about potentially going on that card, potentially at International Fight Week. Out of respect for him still being the best and the biggest in the business, I’ll take wherever I can get. But I think that would be interesting,” he added.