Umar Nurmagomedov has picked a side.
Merab Dvalishvili is expected to challenge Petr Yan this year after the Russian ended his record-breaking bantamweight title reign at UFC 323 in December.
However, Saturday’s event – the first of the 2026 season and the start of the Paramount era – presents an opportunity for some names to change that.
After Umar Nurmagomedov faces Deiveson Figueiredo in the UFC 324 prelims, Sean O’Malley will fight Song Yadong.
Despite his two recent losses to Dvalishvili, ‘Suga’ believes his history with Yan could allow him to skip ahead of the Georgian.
And he is not alone in that view. One of his top rivals at 135 pounds is backing him too…
Umar Nurmagomedov backs Sean O’Malley for title shot over Merab Dvalishvili
Nurmagomedov’s only loss came against Dvalishvili at UFC 311, but he has bounced back since then. At UFC 324, the Dagestani has a chance to pick up a second straight win since that title defeat.
Still, he does not expect to be in line for Yan’s first defence.
With the next title challenger likely shaping his path if he wins this weekend, Nurmagomedov spoke to TNT Sports about who he’d like the UFC to choose.
“My prediction after this fight? They will not give me a fight for the title. I am not expecting that,” he began by saying.
“But I will be ready to fight again. It doesn’t matter how many times. I have to fight for the title in 2026. It’s the goal.
“We will see. Maybe I will fight in the main event in Abu Dhabi in the summer with Yadong or with Sean O’Malley if they make the fight (between) Petr Yan and Merab.”
Nurmagomedov then concluded: “If O’Malley fights for the title next, it’s gonna be even better for me. I am gonna do a rematch with Merab.”
Petr Yan backs Sean O’Malley as next challenger
It is still unclear whether Dana White and the UFC will overlook Dvalishvili in favour of booking a rematch between Yan and O’Malley, but the champion is open to the idea.
After his win at UFC 323, Yan dismissed the idea of a third fight with ‘The Machine’, instead suggesting his former opponent focus on a rematch with Nurmagomedov following the January 24 event.
“You saw the fight of Merab vs Umar. You saw the way that fight went. So who is more dangerous?
“They can rematch and then we can see what happens.”
“Just understand the fact that for me to get the opportunity to fight for the belt again, UFC made me go three more fights until I was able to get into the contender position again,” he added.
In that context, ‘No Mercy’ recently used social media to suggest a potential showdown with O’Malley at the White House this June.
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