Sean O’Malley open to bantamweight contender bout despite pushing for White House title shot

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Sean O’Malley doesn’t appear to be locked in on chasing the title again just yet.

He recently bounced back from a two-fight skid with a win over Song Yadong at UFC 324, returning to the cage after losses to Merab Dvalishvili and Corey Sandhagen.

The victory was significant not just for breaking his losing streak, but also because O’Malley had openly said he would have retired if he’d come up short again.

While there’s plenty of fan interest in seeing O’Malley face Cory Sandhagen next, it seems the UFC may have other plans for both fighters.

O’Malley open to facing Umar Nurmagomedov despite title hopes

Even though O’Malley used the UFC White House visit to push for a rematch with Petr Yan, the UFC appears to be considering a different opponent for him.

With Dvalishvili potentially heading for a rematch against Yan, that leaves just one other name above O’Malley in the rankings: Umar Nurmagomedov, who has put together two wins since his loss to Dvalishvili.

There have been early talks of a fight between O’Malley and Nurmagomedov, and it sounds like both camps are open to making it happen.

“That’s what all sides are expressing interest in. We want the fight with Sean O’Malley. As I understand, O’Malley is not against it and isn’t avoiding it either. Logically it makes sense but there’s no confirmation yet, no dates or signed contracts. Still, it’s likely moving in that direction,” his manager told Sport24.

Umar Nurmagomedov casts doubt on potential matchup with O’Malley

Although Nurmagomedov has put together back-to-back wins since his defeat to Merab, he’ll likely need another victory before getting another shot at the title, especially given that his fighting style hasn’t exactly caught on with fans.

A matchup with ‘Suga’ would fit well within the division’s landscape, but the 30-year-old isn’t convinced it’ll happen.

“I’m ready to fight anywhere with anyone, anytime. If there is a rematch between Merab and Petr, I would like to fight Sean O’Malley,” Umar told Gorilla Fighting.

“I find it hard to believe that Sean will agree to this fight and that the UFC will make it happen. If Petr wins the rematch, his next fight will be against Sean, but if Merab wins the rematch, I’ll be next. Sean fought him twice.”