Sean O’Malley has emerged as one of the UFC’s brightest stars in recent years. For the bantamweight champion, it has been a dream come true, and he recalls the particular bout in which he saw all of his dreams come true.
O’Malley realized his goals were coming true in the run-up to a 2022 bout with former bantamweight champion Petr Yan. In the bantamweight rankings at the time, O’Malley was ranked far lower than Yan. Many fans thought the bout was a major mismatch because of this. But after an exciting three-round battle, O’Malley ultimately overcame the former champion by decision, solidifying his status as a legitimate championship contender.
In retrospect, it is evident how significant the battle was to him.
Sean O’Malley reflects on his battle with Petr Yan in the UFC
“Petr Yan’s still probably one of the most scariest dudes in the division,” O’Malley said on Israel Adesanya’s Young Man Ramble show. “Like, Merab [Dvalishvili is] one of the best at winning fights. Petr Yan is someone that’s going to f*cking elbow you, knock you out, hurt you, cut you, beat the f*ck out of you. … When we were fighting in Abu Dhabi, I think when we walked past him, what did he say? ‘I’m going to eat you’ or something.
“That one I was, like, ‘Holy f*ck. This is the shit I dreamed of,’” O’Malley added. “I was ranked 11, he was ranked No. 1. It was crazy because literally No. 2 through 10 were all fighting each other. The only person in the division after the Pedro Munhoz fight – it was a no-contest, I supposedly eye-poked him – it was Petr Yan. It was like, this is it. This is the f*cking time.”
Sean O’Malley won the UFC bantamweight title after knocking out Aljamain Sterling following his victory over Yan, which changed his career. Then, “Suga” defeated Marlon “Chito” Vera via decision to retain his title. In the end, Dvalishvili defeated him for the title last September.
On June 7 in Newark, New Jersey, he will square off against Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 317.
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