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O’Malley is scheduled to fight Yadong Song at UFC 324 on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas. “Suga” is eyeing a title shot against Yan if he makes a statement with a victory over Song (22-8). O’Malley admits that former champ Merab Dvalishvili is arguably the most deserving title contender. However, O’Malley believes a title fight between him and Yan at the White House is the biggest possible matchup. As there is currently no American-born UFC champion, there are concerns about a lack of American representation at the White House in June. O’Malley believes he will be a big draw as an American representative against Russia’s Yan at the White House.
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USA vs. Russia
“I think I go out there and beat Song,” O’Malley said on the “Death Row MMA” podcast. “Me vs. Petr at the White House just makes sense. I don’t know what else is a bigger fight than that if we’re just going off pure big fights. If we’re going off what makes the absolute most sense, which is not always what the UFC goes off of, I think Merab deserves the title shot. But if we’re going off, what the f—k is the biggest fight? Me vs. Petr rematch at the White House seems like the biggest fight… I feel like I need to go out there and represent for the country.”
O’Malley (18-3) earned a controversial split-decision win over Yan (20-5) in their first matchup at UFC 280 in 2022. O’Malley earned a title shot with the win over Yan and went on to dethrone Aljamain Sterling. O’Malley defended his title against Marlon Vera before losing it to Dvalishvili in 2024. O’Malley failed to regain his title in their rematch last year, suffering a submission loss. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili (21-5) defended his title three times within a year before suffering an upset loss against Yan last month.
Sean O’Malley says Merab deserves the title shot but the White House fight with Petr Yan is the biggest 👀🔥
“I think I go out there and beat Song. Me vs. Petr at the White House just makes sense. I don’t know what else is a bigger fight than that if we’re just going off pure… pic.twitter.com/nVSTNMU7KH
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) January 12, 2026
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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