Sean O’Malley is set to fight Merab Dvalishvili next, while Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov will compete in August for a potential title shot, though O’Malley doubts the fight will happen due to Nurmagomedov’s history of withdrawals.
Sean O’Malley has his next assignment with an expected fight against Merab Dvalishvili. But a new No. 1 contender at bantamweight could potentially be crowned in August.
When UFC returns to Abu Dhabi, one-time interim title challenger Cory Sandhagen continues his pursuit of undisputed gold. He faces undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov in the five-round main event.
The winner is expected to get the next shot at the title. UFC CEO Dana White announced this after revealing the fight for August 3.
Of course, that’s assuming the fight actually takes place. O’Malley has his doubts.
“I’ll tune in… if it happens,” O’Malley recently told MMA Fighting. “We know Umar likes to pull out if something happens.”
Since arriving in UFC, Nurmagomedov has won five straight fights but also been forced to drop out of four scheduled bouts. Various circumstances, including illness and injury, were reasons for these withdrawals.
The inconsistent pattern of appearances has O’Malley convinced that Nurmagomedov may not even make it to the fight in August. Especially after the Russian already missed out on a previously scheduled fight against Sandhagen a year ago.
Assuming disaster doesn’t strike, O’Malley actually favors Sandhagen to beat Nurmagomedov. This could put O’Malley on a collision course with the perennial bantamweight contender from Colorado.
“I’m surprised Cory is such a massive underdog,” O’Malley said. “I think Cory’s one of the most skilled guys in the entire UFC.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Cory beat him at all,” he added.
“Yeah [I’m picking Sandhagen]. I think Umar is as good as everyone thinks he is.” He paused before adding, “I just think Cory is better.”
Sandhagen, best known as a dynamic striker, could present an interesting challenge to O’Malley. The champ prides himself on having some of the nastiest knockout power in the entire division.
While he still has a wait-and-see approach about that fight, O’Malley would relish the challenge if Sandhagen gets through Nurmagomedov.
“I agree [that would be a good fight],” O’Malley said simply.
The fact that O’Malley has Dvalisvhili on his mind and then potentially either Sandhagen or Nurmagomedov is quite different from what he sought after dispatching Marlon Vera in March.
Immediately after notching his first title defense at UFC 299, O’Malley turned his attention to UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria as a dream opponent. He called for an opportunity to potentially claim a title in a second division.
The idea was thoroughly criticized though—especially with Dvalisvhili still waiting in the wings after building a 10-fight unbeaten streak in the bantamweight division.
So rather than pursue Topuria and another belt, O’Malley happily shifted his focus back to Dvalisvhili instead. The same goes for future plans too.
O’Malley still hopes for “champ-champ” status one day but acknowledges fan desires too. If they want him to stick around at bantamweight and defend his belt—well—that’s exactly what he’s going to do!
“I’m here for the people,” O’Malley declared passionately. “I thought me moving up to fight Ilia would get people excited.”
“Ilia’s way more dangerous than Merab,” he continued candidly. “So I was pumped when people were like, ‘No, fight Merab.’”
He concluded with enthusiasm: “‘Hell yeah,’ bet! I’ll fight Merab.”
“If they want me as double champ? Let’s do it.” He smiled broadly before finishing: “If they want me defending? Let’s do it too.”