“I already beat both Sean O’Malley and (Cory) Sandhagen,“ Petr Yan had declared after winning at the UFC Fight Night 248 against Deiveson Figueiredo. Former UFC bantamweight champion Yan wanted another run-in with the bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili. After three back-to-back losses, including losing his belt to Aljamain Sterling, he is back on track with two consecutive wins against Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo. Naturally, his next goal is a rematch against the current bantamweight champion.
The thing is, Sean O’Malley‘s decision win against Yan was pretty controversial, and many in the fighting community, including Marlon Vera, said that ‘Suga’ was “gifted” a decision win against Yan while speaking to The MMA Hour. Furthermore, ‘No Mercy’ seems to agree that the UFC might be protecting ‘Suga’ because he’s a potential cash cow for the organization, as Aljamain Sterling had once pointed out to the same news outlet.
While speaking to Submission Radio’s Denis Shukratov, he spoke about the UFC 316 rematch between Dvalishvili and O’Malley, and said, “Everybody knows [the] UFC gives presents [to] O’Malley [for] a second time when he was fighting with me—I beat O’Malley. UFC gave him presents there, and now they give him a title fight. He is a chicken guy, you see, he is making money [for the organization].”
Aljamain Sterling had remarked something similar before UFC 292 at a Q&A in New York. He said, “I want him to pay for everything that he said, all the trash talk, everything, all his Dana White privilege. I didn’t have none of that, and I can’t wait to take it out on him.” So maybe, there’s a pattern here? Is the UFC really shielding O’Malley because he has PPV-garnering star power?
Considering that Dvalishvili was predominant in his unanimous decision victory over O’Malley at UFC 306, not too many fans are rallying for a rematch. However, the Montana native has not fought since losing his title, since he was recovering from a torn labrum. Despite that, however, he was granted a rematch, and the fans were not too stoked about that.
September 14, 2024, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: SEAN OÃââ MALLEY fights in the 5-round Bantamweight Title Main Event at UFC 306 Riyadh Season Noche UFC at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Las Vegas USA – ZUMAs346 20240914_zsp_s346_004 Copyright: xAlejandroxSalazarx
However, Dvalishvili has been singing a different tune with the man he took the title from. He defended his opponent while speaking to Ariel Helwani and said, “Even though a lot of people criticize O’Malley getting the rematch, I think he deserves it.”
Whatever Dvalishvili’s stance is on O’Malley, the Russian bantamweight Petr Yan is not happy with this present arrangement. He feels that he won the razor-thin bout against O’Malley at UFC 280, but the scores tell a different story. Regardless, he still harbors the goal to either fight the Georgian or O’Malley again. And what does ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley have to say about
Team Sean O’Malley’s condition for fighting Petr Yan again
After winning against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Macau, Petr Yan declared his desire for the title fight during the post-fight presser. It was an electric performance from start to finish, with both athletes taking each other to their limits. In the end, Yan emerged dominant and victorious. After the fight, he said, “I will fight anybody… I already beat both Sean O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen.”
O’Malley’s coach had a response for this and set one condition for this to happen. While speaking to Submission Radio, Tim Welch declared, “It’s a very good chance that’s going to happen. If ‘Sug’ knocks out Umar or smokes Merab in their rematch, and he beats them, then Yan’s probably next. And a five-round fight—Petr Yan vs Sugar 2—that’s a really big fight. So that’s definitely in the back of both of our minds, that’s a possibility.”
So what’s next for Petr Yan? Will he likely fight Umar Nurmagomedov since he is standing at #2 and the Dagestani is at #3? Maybe a win over ‘Young Eagle’ makes a strong case for him fighting for the title? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The post “UFC Gives Presents for O’Malley” – Petr Yan Throws Dana White Under the Bus for Merab Dvalishvili Controversy at UFC 316 appeared first on EssentiallySports.