Sean O'Malley calls Petr Yan rematch 'the biggest bantamweight fight in UFC history', waves off Song Yadong

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley says he is "100 percent" fighting Petr Yan next, calling a title rematch "the biggest bantamweight fight in UFC history" in his UFC 333 reaction video on YouTube, MMA Junkie reported on Sunday, October 25. UFC CEO Dana White, however, has said the promotion is still choosing between O'Malley and Song Yadong as Yan's next challenger.

Yan retained the belt against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, October 24, winning their five-round trilogy fight by unanimous decision with all three judges scoring it 48-47.

O'Malley: 'Even if they announce Petr vs. Song, I'm still fighting Petr next'

According to MMA Junkie, O'Malley was watching expecting to be named as the next contender, but in the Octagon interview only Song was mentioned, by color commentator Daniel Cormier and by Yan himself.

"That was anticlimactic," O'Malley said in the video, as quoted by MMA Junkie. "DC, I don't know what he's thinking. Song Yadong? I'm trying to wrap my head around it, 'Maybe he is next?' I beat him like six months ago, seven months ago. January."

He went further: "I'm fighting Petr Yan next. Even if they announce Petr vs. Song, I'm still fighting Petr next. That's how much I'm fighting Petr next. ... Song fought Petr on one of my undercards when I defended the championship, and Petr beat Song. I beat Petr. I beat Song. It's got to be me vs. Petr, in the United States, early Q2, late Q1. Book it."

O'Malley also said he has been preparing for the matchup since his last fight: "It gives me this good anxiety, this good nervousness. I'm locked in. I've been locked in since the last fight knowing I might be fighting Petr Yan again. ... It's going to be the greatest, the biggest bantamweight fight in UFC history. I don't know when, I don't know where, but I know it's going to happen."

First reaction on fight night

Shortly after the decision on Saturday, O'Malley posted on X: "PEEEEEETER YAAAAAAAN." According to Bloody Elbow, he then shared photos on Instagram of his wins over both Song and Yan and a video of himself running through a hail storm, shouting: "Petr Yan, while you're out there celebrating your victory I'm out here training." According to Knockout Daily, his head coach Tim Welch posted "SUG VS PETR 2 LFG" within minutes of the scorecards being read.

Dana White: 'A good problem to have'

At the UFC 333 post-fight press conference, White said, according to Combat Sports UK and MiddleEasy: "Me and the matchmakers were texting the entire night about Song Yadong and O'Malley. You know, obviously, both are great options, and it's a good problem to have to figure out which one of those two would be next."

White did not name a challenger or a date, and nothing has been booked.

The case for each contender

O'Malley holds a split-decision win over Yan from UFC 280 in October 2022, a Fight of the Night that remains debated. Since back-to-back title losses to Dvalishvili, he beat Song by unanimous decision at UFC 324 in January and then knocked out Aiemann Zahabi at the UFC White House card.

Song, according to MMA Junkie, has since submitted Deiveson Figueiredo and knocked out Umar Nurmagomedov. Ariel Helwani wrote on X after UFC 333: "Gotta be Yan x Suga 2 next, no? Interestingly, only Song Yadong was mentioned by DC in the post-fight."

What Yan has said

Before the fight, Yan told MMA Fighting that an O'Malley rematch made sense - "Why not? For real, we have history" - but at UFC 333 media day he said Song was "really more deserving of a title fight." Both times he stressed the decision belongs to the UFC: "Whoever the UFC puts in front of me, that is who I'm going to fight."

Neither Yan nor Song has publicly responded to O'Malley's latest comments, and the UFC has not announced Yan's next title defense.