Dana White says Petr Yan's next challenger is Sean O'Malley or Song Yadong

Petr Yan's next title defence will be against Sean O'Malley or Song Yadong, UFC CEO Dana White said after UFC 333 on Saturday. White named both men at the post-fight press conference but did not pick one. No fight has been announced.

"Me and the matchmakers were texting the entire night about Song Yadong and O'Malley," White said, according to UFC.com. He added that "both are great options, and it's a good problem to have to figure out which one of those two would be next." He gave no timeline.

How Yan got here

Yan kept the belt with a unanimous decision over Merab Dvalishvili in Saturday's co-main event in Abu Dhabi, 48-47 on all three cards. He lost the first two rounds and took the last three, according to Uncrowned. Dvalishvili tried 58 takedowns and landed five, which Uncrowned calls a UFC record for attempts. White said a kick to the body "definitely turned the momentum."

The win gave Yan a 2-1 lead in the trilogy. Dvalishvili won their first fight in March 2023, and Yan took the title from him at UFC 323 last December. He closed a +320 underdog that night and a −149 favourite (57%) on Saturday, per his CageOracle page. At closing prices, he is 7-4 in 11 priced UFC fights, which would have returned 1.87 units of profit on level stakes.

In the Octagon, Daniel Cormier asked Yan about Song. Yan declined to choose, as transcribed by EssentiallySports:

"Listen to me, brother: I'm the champion of this organization; I do not pick fights."

Before the fight he gave mixed signals. "We have history, so why wouldn't that be the fight?" he told MMA Fighting about an O'Malley rematch, as reported by MMA Sucka. At media day, though, he said Song was "really more deserving of a title fight," according to FirstSportz. He added that O'Malley had been given "two free fights against the champ."

The two contenders

O'Malley (20-3) was No. 2 in the UFC rankings before Saturday, and he has beaten both men. He won a split decision over Yan at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi in October 2022, a result that drew plenty of disagreement, as MiddleEasy notes. Yan had closed a −265 favourite. In January he beat Song 29-28 on all three cards at UFC 324, per ESPN. On June 14 he stopped Aiemann Zahabi in the second round at the White House card.

O'Malley wasn't in Abu Dhabi. "I'm fighting Petr Yan next, I don't care," he said on his stream afterwards, according to SB Nation. He has since posted photos of his wins over both men, Athlon Sports reported. He also posted a hailstorm training video with a message for Yan. His coach, Tim Welch, criticised Cormier for pushing Song, per MMA Sucka.

Song (24-9-1), ranked No. 3, has the better run since losing to O'Malley in January. He submitted Deiveson Figueiredo with a second-round guillotine in Macau on May 30. On August 29 he knocked out Umar Nurmagomedov in Shanghai as a +460 underdog (17%), per his CageOracle page. He is 7-3 in 10 priced fights, where the closing prices implied about five wins.

"I can finish Petr, I can finish Merab," Song said after Shanghai, according to Heavy. He was cageside on Saturday. Yan has already beaten him, by unanimous decision at UFC 299 in March 2024, closing a −167 favourite.

Our view

We think O'Malley should get the shot. He beat Song nine months ago, and the 2022 split decision with Yan is still argued over, so a rematch settles something real. His win over Song was close, a "debated decision" in the words of MMA Junkie, and Yan has called Song more deserving. But Yan has already beaten Song, while he has never had the chance to answer the O'Malley loss.