O'Malley says he'll fight Petr Yan next even if UFC books Song Yadong

Sean O'Malley says he will fight bantamweight champion Petr Yan next, even if the UFC books Yan against Song Yadong. He said it on his stream after Yan's title defense at UFC 333 on Saturday. SB Nation reported the comments on Sunday, and Sherdog followed on Monday.

"Even if they announce Petr vs. Song, I'm fighting Petr next."

O'Malley was reacting to Yan's in-cage interview in Abu Dhabi. Daniel Cormier asked Yan about Song as a next opponent and didn't mention O'Malley, according to Sherdog and SB Nation. "DC, I don't know what he's thinking," O'Malley said, per Sherdog. He pointed out he had already beaten Song: "I beat him like 6 months ago." That fight was on January 24, about nine months earlier.

In a clip Red Corner MMA posted on X on Sunday, reported by SB Nation, he added that he was surprised Yan didn't call him out. "It's the biggest fight to make," he said.

No decision yet

The UFC hasn't announced Yan's next opponent. At the post-fight press conference, Dana White said he and the matchmakers "were texting the entire night about Yadong and O'Malley," according to MMA Sucka. He called both "great options" and said the UFC still had to work out which one goes next.

In the cage, Yan didn't pick either. "I do not pick fights. Give me Song Yadong, give me King Kong, give me anybody," he said, as quoted by SB Nation.

At media day on Wednesday, he went further. "I think Song Yadong is really more deserving of a title fight, to be honest, but for me I'm not the one who decides it," he said, per Cageside Press. That week he also told MMA Fighting an O'Malley rematch made sense: "Why not? For real, we have history," via Heavy.

O'Malley isn't dismissing Song. On his stream he called Song "good as f---," per MMA Sucka. He said Song deserves a title shot but could wait for the winner of O'Malley vs. Yan.

How they got here

Yan (21-5) beat Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision, 48-47 on all three cards, ESPN reported. That took their trilogy 2-1 and made it five wins in a row for Yan. He closed at −162 (59%) on Saturday, after taking the belt from Dvalishvili last December as a +320 underdog (23%), per his page.

O'Malley (20-3) has won two straight since losing twice to Dvalishvili. He beat Song by unanimous decision at UFC 324 in January, then stopped Aiemann Zahabi in the second round in June, per his page. Song has won twice since that loss, submitting Deiveson Figueiredo in May and knocking out Umar Nurmagomedov in August, per his page.

Yan beat Song too, at UFC 299 in March 2024, closing as a −167 favourite (60%), per his page.

The Yan rematch has three years of bad blood behind it. O'Malley won a split decision at UFC 280 in October 2022 as roughly a 31% underdog, with Yan at −265, per our fight page. Many fans scored it for Yan, Heavy notes, and the win led to O'Malley's title shot. Yan said in March 2024 that O'Malley "got gifted a decision in a fight against me," Cageside Press reported.

Song has beaten his closing prices more than the other two, mostly on one fight. He has won seven of his 10 priced fights since 2021, when the odds implied about five. The Nurmagomedov knockout at +460 (17%) is most of that. Yan and O'Malley have won about as often as their prices said.

We think O'Malley still has the stronger claim, even though the champion himself said Song is more deserving. O'Malley beat Song nine months ago and beat Yan in 2022, though both decisions had their doubters. Song's two finishes since are strong, but the head-to-head result is the most direct evidence there is between the two contenders.

BetOnline opened Yan at −250 against either man, with O'Malley at +207 and Song at +210, Sherdog reported on Monday. Neither fight has been booked.