It appears there may be some truth to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White’s matchup whiteboard after all.
Early Tuesday (May 3, 2022) some UFC matchups for the upcoming events were seemingly leaked during a podcast appearance made by White. Among the fights visible was a Bantamweight clash between perennial contender, Pedro Munhoz, and rising superstar, Sean O’Malley. Since the reveal, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has confirmed that the bout is a go for UFC 276 on July 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
O’Malley currently rides a three-fight winning streak dating back to Aug. 2020 when coming up short against Marlon “Chito” Vera. “Suga” has faced little resistance during this stretch having scored knockouts against Thomas Almeida, Kris Moutinho, and Raulian Paiva, the last of which earned the outspoken Arizonan a spot in the UFC’s top 15 rankings.
For Brazil’s Munhoz, he’ll look to get back on track after going 1-4 in his last five with two back-to-back losses to all-time greats, Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz. Prior to his Fight of the Night win against Jimmie Rivera in Feb. 2021, Munhoz suffered defeat against former and future champions, Frankie Edgar and Aljamain Sterling. It hasn’t been an easy go for “The Young Punisher” and although O’Malley is somewhat of a significant step down, he’ll present another uniquely tricky challenge for the brawling jiu-jitsu ace.
Set to be the International Fight Week event for 2022, UFC 276 is shaping up to be a good one. The current official lineup can be seen below:
- 125 lbs.: Miesha Tate vs. Lauren Murphy
- 125 lbs.: Jessica Eye vs. Maycee Barber
- 185 lbs.: Brad Tavares vs. Dricus du Plessis
- 135 lbs.: Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Julija Stoliarenko
- 185 lbs.: Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz
- 170lbs.: Robbie Lawler vs. Bryan Barberena
- 135lbs.: Pedro Munhoz vs. Sean O’Malley