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 when 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 after the fight was revealed for August 3.
Of course, that’s assuming the fight actually takes place, because 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. I’ll be surprised if the fight happens.”
Since arriving in UFC, Nurmagomedov has won five straight fights but also been forced to drop out of four scheduled bouts due to various circumstances, including illness and injury.
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, which 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.
“Yeah [I’m picking Sandhagen]. I think Umar is as good as everyone thinks he is. I just think Cory is better.”
Sandhagen, best known as a dynamic striker, could present an interesting challenge to O’Malley, as 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.
The fact that O’Malley has Dvalisvhili on his mind and then potentially either Sandhagen or Nurmagomedov is a far cry from the fight 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, calling for the opportunity to potentially claim a title in a second division.
The idea was thoroughly criticized, 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 the future. O’Malley still hopes for “champ-champ” status one day, but if the fans want to see him stick around at bantamweight to defend his belt, then that’s exactly what he’s going to do.
“I’m here for the people,” O’Malley said. “I thought me moving up to fight Ilia would get people excited. Ilia’s, in my opinion, way more dangerous than Merab. So I was pumped when people were like, ‘No, fight Merab, we don’t want to see you fight Ilia.’ I’m like, ‘Hell yeah, bet. I’ll fight Merab.’
“I’m here for the people. If they want to see me as double champ, let’s do it. If they want to see me defend, let’s do it. I’m here for the people.”
