Sean O’Malley Sets Ideal Scenario For His Journey To Reclaiming UFC Bantamweight Title

Sean O’Malley is determined to reclaim his place on the UFC’s bantamweight throne.

The former champion, one of the UFC’s top stars, is coming off a decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 last September, a setback that ended a three-fight winning streak that included capturing and defending the bantamweight title.

“Suga” was largely outgrappled by Dvalishvili inside the Sphere but showed flashes of his striking prowess, including a body kick that hurt the Georgian late in the fight. Now, O’Malley is already eyeing a path back to the title.

Speaking at a pre-fight press conference ahead of RIZIN 49, O’Malley expressed his hopes for a rematch with Dvalishvili, who is set to defend the bantamweight title against undefeated rising star Umar Nurmagomedov on Jan. 18.

“Ideally, Merab beats Umar and I get the rematch,” O’Malley said. “But if Umar wins, it’ll be Umar. That’s what I want next: a title fight. Hopefully mid-next year. So, the winner of that one. That fight’s coming up very, very soon.”

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