Sean O’Malley believes a title shot needs to be subsequent for him regardless of who holds the bantamweight title after UFC 311, however he undoubtedly has his choice of opponent.
Showing at a pre-fight press convention forward of RIZIN 49 this previous Tuesday, O’Malley laid out his plans for the New 12 months with hopes of regaining the title he misplaced at UFC 306. On that night time, O’Malley got here up quick and misplaced a unanimous choice to Merab Dvalishvili, who’s now scheduled to defend that belt in opposition to undefeated phenom Umar Nurmagomedov on Jan. 18.
“Ideally, Merab beats Umar and I get the rematch,” O’Malley stated about what he’d prefer to see occur subsequent. “But when Umar wins, it’ll be Umar. That’s what I would like subsequent is a title combat.
“Hopefully mid-next yr. So the winner of that one. That combat’s arising very, very quickly.”
Following his loss to Dvalishvili in September, O’Malley revealed he fought with a torn labrum, which might require surgical procedure and hold him out of motion for a number of months. Whereas he’s hinted at potential return dates, the previous Contender Collection signing seems able to name his shot for mid-2025, particularly if he will get his want for a title alternative.
Previous to reserving the combat in opposition to Nurmagomedov in January, Dvalishvili truly expressed curiosity in operating it again with O’Malley in an instantaneous rematch, but the UFC shot down that idea. As an alternative, Nurmagomedov will get his alternative to develop into UFC champion for the primary time after amassing an ideal 6-0 report within the promotion, together with a latest win over one-time interim title challenger Cory Sandhagen.
It’s protected to say O’Malley is conserving an in depth eye on Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov to kick off 2025 with plans to combat the winner later within the yr.
